aspiration to wealth as a character flaw

Excellent op-ed article in the Globe & Mail today:

When Wealth Became A Character Flaw

I find this particularly apposite, since I had an interesting exchange over the bridge table the other night. I've been playing bridge with the same group of women for more than 30 years. We've all moved in & out of careers over that period, some in & out of relationships too.

Last week, we had a spare who, let's say, is one of the privileged few who have never had to work for a living. Or do anything productive apart from producing children. A worthy occupation no doubt, but one that doesn't tend to broaden the perspective in & of itself? And one that all too many women must do in addition to a day job, so please forgive me for my obvious bias in the case of the privileged few.

The conversation turned to the economy, as it often does these days. And of course the claw-back of the bonuses for the Arrogant, Incompetent & Greedy bastards who have been instrumental in engineering the current recession.

I ventured the opinion that "nobody is worth more than $250K a year" and was immediately pounced on by the said privileged darling, whose husband is one of the moneyed classes. A real-estate magnate, no less. What surprised me was that a couple of others in the group chimed in with her. Now, nobody in our group is in that bracket, not by half or better. It's a good lesson in how people value themselves. I suspect that a great many people tolerate the inequities in income because they aspire to be one of the 1% themselves. More or less what is pointed up as a conclusion in the above article.

As for me, I remain more of an egalitarian thinker. Lately out of fashion, but I hope to see a resurgence!