O Wealthy Brother Where Art Thou?
Who is Paul Sullivan? I only know of him because of masaccio, who pointed out this extraordinary NYTimes column, in which he appears to have inverted the plot of Preston Sturges' classic film Sullivan's Travels. Instead of discovering the misery in the poverty stricken America of the Great Depression, as Sturges' protaganist John L. Sullivan did, our modern day Sullivan discovered the travails of the beleaguered wealthy in today's America of "little people" hating on their betters:
Beating up on the wealthy seems to be the order of day. I suspected that. But a recent Wealth Matters column touched a particularly raw nerve. It looked at how even people with sizable fortunes were concerned about money in this recession and the impact that could have on the rest of us. Readers rejected the attempt to understand the concerns of the rich.
[. . .] [I]n this recession, anger flows one way. Eric Dammann, a Manhattan psychoanalyst, theorizes that a lot of people are angry that the rules of the game seem to have changed. “There’s always been envy and hatred toward the rich, but there was also a strong undercurrent of admiration that was holding these people up as a goal,” Mr. Dammann said. “This time it’s different because it feels like it’s a closed club and the rich have an unfair advantage.”
Heh. The anger flows one way. The rich are not mad at the poor I guess is what he is saying. But it gets better:
What is troubling is that the anger has hardened for some into a suspicion that all wealthy people are motivated purely by self-interest, said Brad Klontz, a financial psychologist in Hawaii and a co-author of the forthcoming book, “Mind Over Money: Overcoming the Money Disorders That Threaten Our Financial Health” (Random House). “The script goes like this: Money is bad, rich people are shallow and greedy, and people become rich by taking advantage of others,” Mr. Klontz said. “But the same people who say money is bad say money is connected to their self-worth — they wished they had it and you didn’t.”
(Emphasis supplied.) Heh again. A financial psychologist? What in the hell is that? But our modern day Sullivan is just starting. More fun quotes:
“To revile the rich is to revile the American dream,” said Robert Clarfeld, president of the wealth management firm Clarfeld Financial Advisors.
A wealth management firm president decries "hatred" of the rich. Quelle surprise. But here's our Sullivan topping this guy:
This resentment was so palpable, I started to wonder if it was having any effect — were the wealthy aware of it, and if they were, did they care?
Heh again. But Mr. Sullivan discovers what they actually care about:
A big concern among the wealthy right now, their advisers say, is not populist anger but how it might translate into tax-the-rich legislation on the federal and state levels.
(Emphasis supplied.) You don't say? Who woulda thunk it? Sullivan concludes with some psychobabble and more "wealth experts" about how people should not let themselves be consumed by "obsession" with the rich. Translation? Don't be for raising taxes on the rich. FDR, you listening?
One final note, Mr. Sullivan is a reporter for the Times. I hate to break it to him, unless he is independently wealthy and just a reporter as a hobby, he is not wealthy. Hell, I make a lot more money than he does. Don't hate me for that Mr. Sullivan.
Speaking for me only
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