The Next Generation of Rich People
Imagine you’re a child right now. Growing up in a world where your parents got laid off. You know that they’re struggling, and trying to make ends meet. You might not see all the struggles, because your parents are good at hiding it, but you know that something has changed. They seem less happy. There’s less food on the table. Lots of unspoken glances and emotional exchanges pass by, and none of them are smiles.
As you grew up, how would you plan to make sure that didn’t happen to your family? You’d probably try to plan to get rich. To make sure you and your family had so much money that even if things went tragically wrong for the whole world, your family would not be impacted by it. Things wouldn’t become more stressful in your household. A pandemic wouldn’t change your lifestyle and your kids wouldn’t have to be stressed out by it.
So if you’re wondering why you see millionaires and people with lots of money and resources not pitching in, why they’re hoarding during a time when so many are in such need, it may be because they were planning in order to be able to do just that. From a combination of their own work and systems that support them, they make that much money in order to live well during hard times.
I think some critique of particularly greedy actions is warranted. But I also think it’s important to realize that even people with a lot of money may plan their lifestyles around having that much money. In other words, when you have a lot of money, you may get used to living a particular lifestyle that requires spending a lot of money. While I’m not equating not having enough money to eat versus not having enough money to buy a lavish dinner, I am saying that it is emotionally difficult for people with a lot of money to take a pay cut, and that that financial and emotional sacrifice should not be trivialized.
