Thursday, June 08, 2006

Money troubles?

I seem to be developing something of a issue with Anya Kamenetz. After a link to her website sat in my inbox for weeks, I finally took it upon myself to read some of her "Generation Debt" articles for the Village Voice. Namely, this one about trust fund kids. It's interesting and all, but it sort of bugs me. How about this line:

It's not as if I'm going to Suede and getting a banquette with three bottles of Crissy. I hang out on Smith Street and drink Red Stripes.

To quote Rob in High Fidelity, I'm not a class warrior. But it does bug me just a little bit when super-rich people talk about how they are so average and they drink beer with the normal kids. Why? Because being poor isn't just about what your lifestyle is like. Being poor is about feeling comfortable spending money EVER - it's about not knowing if you should spend money on one thing because you might later need something else, whether that's food or a pair of earrings at Target or a plane ticket. Comfort level with money is something that the truly wealthy can't understand. Blah.

1 comment:

Unknown said...

Good point, actually.