Saturday, April 11, 2009

Being poor is fun! Especially when you're not

Plumbing new depths of cluelessness, the New York Times published an article saying that it's great having to pinch pennies. Except they quote people who seem to be doing so more for the novelty than out of necessity:

Ms. Martin is a real estate investor, her husband is a plastic surgeon, and their home sits on the 12th hole of a Cincinnati country club.
How exciting for Ms. Martin and her rather comfortable family to pretend they have no money and can enjoy getting their DVDs from the library instead of Blockbuster and growing their own veggies. What fun! And maybe they can get in a round of golf while they're waiting for their salad to grow.

Other people they interviewed also had to make dramatic changes. One man canceled his wine club membership and uses his iPhone (on which the cheapest plan is over $100/month) to find cheaper gas. Another woman gave up using paper napkins (a change I made at home over two years ago) in order to save money. What hardships these people have endured.

The NY Times should have interviewed people who have faced real hardships recently. There are thousands of people who have lost their jobs, homes, cars, everything. Many of these people have been reduced to living in tents. Where to get a DVD or using an app on your iPhone is not even on your radar when your entire life exists in a tent. It's really sad, and pathetic, that the supposedly "premier" newspaper in the country is so clueless when it comes to reporting the conditions in the country right now.

Summing up the cluelessness, the woman making the ultimate sacrifice of paper napkins is quoted as saying:
“I recently heard a phrase: ‘Never waste a crisis,’ ” Ms. Sikes said. “I love it."
I wonder how much she'd love it if she were living in a tent.

1 comment:

SadMan said...

And Cloth napkins are SO much softer than paper, cheaper and nicer at the same time!