They don't have a clue what 'poorer' even means, my god, I feel sooooooo farken sorry for them.

Cry me a river.

Tis now the very witching time of night,
When churchyards yawn and hell itself breathes out
Contagion to this world: now could I drink hot blood,
And do such bitter business, as the day
Would quake to look on.

See this?

.

That's the world's smallest violin.

It's times like these that test us. That make us prove our mettle. That's what you tell yourself as you sit there, alone in the coldest hour of the night surrounded by your stainless steel appliances that hum like living things, living things watching you as you pad silently on your cashmere slippers through the shadowy penthouse condominium where you'd hatched so many dreams. And Warren is there, sleeping in the feather bed, firm in the grip of the Ambien he's been taking more and more of just to get to sleep these nights, these long, dark nights. And you pop another Percoset, close your eyes as the numbness spreads through your body, your tired body.

You had to let Agnes go today. Agnes, your cook since the beginning, since that first Christmas bonus that was to be the first of so many bonuses. And Louie is long gone, of course, gone to wherever doormen go when their services are no longer required. You try not to think of them. They are different than you, the poor. They can adjust. You can not burden yourself with their lives, though at one point you thought of them as your subjects. Peasants living off your land.

You used to like imagining this, yourself as a queen. But now your kingdom is collapsing. The barbarians are at the gate. Your throne has been toppled.

Warren's soft snoring. You stare at his soft, fleshy body underneath the sheets, which haven't been washed in two days. Ever since you had to cut housekeeping back to only twice a week, and even that bare minimum may be unsustainable. Images of dust bunnies, of Muffy's hair uncollected from the carpet, her dogbed, push their way into your mind. You force them away. You can't think of that. Not now. No more.

And Britnie. Little Britnie, your heart's heart, your precious daughter. Your eyes go to the table, the French Oak antique that you bought so joyfully last year. But could that $40,000 have been better spent? Impossible to have imagined that then. But there, on the surface, the boarding school letter lays folded. Their second one. A warning. Lack of payment. What will all that mean? Where will it end? How can they be so heartless? What options will remain? Public school?

Die. You'll die first.

You sigh. You sink to the carpet, wrap the silk folds of your robe tightly around your body. Your traitorous, aging body. All that work you were planning to have done this year. The liposuction--gone. The septioplasty--gone. The Lasik and the tummy tuck and the enhancement--all gone. Gone, like leaves spread before a fall wind. Your life, gone. And Warren snores again in his artificial sleep and your head spins from the Percoset--how many have you taken?--and you raise your glass of wine to your lips and vow that you will be strong. You are being tested, but you will be strong. You will prevail. But the cold night wears on, and the steel appliances hum their animal hum, and you press your forehead against the plush fiber of the carpet, and you cry. You cry for what has been lost, for what we have all lost. You cry for the world.

Pocket Ninja: You cry for what has been lost, for what we have all lost. You cry for the world.

I have something in my eye.

The Onanist: Pocket Ninja: You cry for what has been lost, for what we have all lost. You cry for the world.

I have something in my eye.

tears of joy?

Sounds like a personal problem.

The Los Angeles Times... only relevant to the wealthiest 1% since 1966.

Pope George Ringo: The Los Angeles Times... only relevant to the wealthiest 1% since 1966.

Be that as it may, I find it difficult to feel sorry for these people.

And i'm about has hard core capitalist as you can get.

I find it amusing that this article goes on for ** THREE PAGES **

when one pic would have sufficed:

It's all a matter of perspective, and it's a lot harder to go down than it is to just stay at a certain level.

In a way, it's easier to be poor. You don't have the insecurity of maybe losing all that nice shiat. And you don't have to waste your time shopping.

cryinoutloud: It's all a matter of perspective, and it's a lot harder to go down than it is to just stay at a certain level.

In a way, it's easier to be poor. You don't have the insecurity of maybe losing all that nice shiat. And you don't have to waste your time shopping.

given a choice, I'd rather be rich. That said, it's nice to see the faux rich finally starting to feel the pinch and have to live in the same country that they foisted off on us poor people for all these years. it's a cold sort of comfort, but at least they're figuring out that we're all in this together.

It's not the money . . . it's the stuff!

Can any of these ladies cook? I only made it through the first page.

I'm curious to see what happens insofar as getting back to the basics, like cooking your own meals the majority of the time. I have a cookbook that is compiled of Depression era recipes. Another is compiled of recipes found on can labels, backs of boxes and other labels. IIRC, the practice of putting recipes on staple products was a Depression era thing. It's almost all comfort food and deliciously fattening.

There are a lot of good meals that come from being poor and having to stretch whatever you've got in the pantry.

That wouldn't be a problem Mona and Amar didn't treat his stock options and bonuses as regular income. If they lived like they only made $200k (his base salary) a year this wouldn't be affecting them so much.

Weaver95: cryinoutloud: It's all a matter of perspective, and it's a lot harder to go down than it is to just stay at a certain level.

In a way, it's easier to be poor. You don't have the insecurity of maybe losing all that nice shiat. And you don't have to waste your time shopping.

given a choice, I'd rather be rich. That said, it's nice to see the faux rich finally starting to feel the pinch and have to live in the same country that they foisted off on us poor people for all these years. it's a cold sort of comfort, but at least they're figuring out that we're all in this together.

I'd rather be rich too. But since I'm not, I've had a lot of time to sit around figuring out that when getting to the top, there is no "top." Just more things to want and more people to envy.

If you have no money, you learn not to want much. Roof, food, a car that runs (if you need one)--it's easy.

What's saddest is that people so extremely stupid as to agree to be profiled in a "Pity the Poor Millionaires" article have actually managed to accumulate the wealth necessary to be profiled in said article.

/yeah, OK, "brains" isn't the top requirement when looking for a trophy wife, but still...

discount sushi: That wouldn't be a problem Mona and Amar didn't treat his stock options and bonuses as regular income. If they lived like they only made $200k (his base salary) a year this wouldn't be affecting them so much.

This. My dad's base salary for most of his career was $200,000, and he racked up a ton of bonuses and other capital gains over that time - he struck it particularly rich when the firm he worked for was picked up by Mellon. But our standard of living didn't change too much during that time. It was upper-upper-upper-middle class, but we rarely splurged on anything.

And even HE is telling us to tighten our belts. That tells you how bad it is.

ah toilet paper, a fond memory...

I will NEVER give up my Charmin Plus with aloe.

A smooth sphincter gives you a happy pucker all day.

Under republican rule, ordinary people struggle to live decently and Wall Street types live like no monarch in the history of the universe ever could.

Under liberal rule, ordinary people live decently and Wall Street types live like no monarch in the history of Earth ever could.

discount sushi: That wouldn't be a problem Mona and Amar didn't treat his stock options and bonuses as regular income. If they lived like they only made $200k (his base salary) a year this wouldn't be affecting them so much.

I agree with this and I applaud FishyFred. My parents have a combined income of maybe 200,000 and my mom frequntly gets raises but not once it is assumed it is regular income and usually goes into savings or retirement. Im not rich but I hope I would be able to live within my means if I was making that much money and not splurg it on stupid material crap.

I'm not from the US, but I thought New Jersey was supposed to be reasonably cheap? And you can't live on $200K a year?

eddyatwork: See this?

.

That's the world's smallest violin.

And it's playing "My Heart Bleeds For You"?

sckonkh: Im not rich but I hope I would be able to live within my means if I was making that much money and not splurg it on stupid material crap.

Hey, come on. You can splurge on the occasional stupid material crap. You should see our home theater. My dad bought a $5000 bike because he's picked up cycling as a hobby.

I think the key is that we've lived in the same house for 20 years, our mortgage is under control, and we don't own any other land. My dad also isn't a flashy cars kind of guy. He favored Saab for many years because he could afford it and because they are fantastically reliable. But that would be the most expensive car we've ever owned leased.

Cry me a Farkin' river.

In interviews with several Wall Street wives whose husbands' big earnings are in jeopardy, they describe the pain of walking through malls and boutiques -- how it hurts knowing they can't grab a few things for themselves that might catch their fancy


Oh noes!!!

"The Monds sold their house and moved to a two-bedroom apartment in a modest complex filled with immigrants from India.

'Here in Jersey you just have to have a house unless you're just a fresh immigrant,' says Mona, who thinks she should be past that stage."

LOL. Yes, my dear, God does in fact make trash, and you are indeed it. Those Indians are looking down on *you*.

boo farkin hoooooooooooo for them.

i..i think i got something in my eye.. sniffle.. it.. its just an eyelash, i swear

Weaver95: The Onanist: Pocket Ninja: You cry for what has been lost, for what we have all lost. You cry for the world.

I have something in my eye.

tears of joy?

I'm guessing it's a similar little dust mote that I have in my eye...

Here's hoping to the downfall of all the wall street farkers! May they all visit the same level of hell the bankers that approved loans that knew they'd never be able to repay..

Here's an idea sweetie: How about you go out and get a job! And preferably one that doesn't involve parasitism and contributes nothing positive to society.

I'm trying to feel sorry for these people...

Nope, nothing

Maybe I'll try again later after the cleaning lady leaves

FishyFred: sckonkh: Im not rich but I hope I would be able to live within my means if I was making that much money and not splurg it on stupid material crap.

Hey, come on. You can splurge on the occasional stupid material crap. You should see our home theater. My dad bought a $5000 bike because he's picked up cycling as a hobby.

I think the key is that we've lived in the same house for 20 years, our mortgage is under control, and we don't own any other land. My dad also isn't a flashy cars kind of guy. He favored Saab for many years because he could afford it and because they are fantastically reliable. But that would be the most expensive car we've ever owned leased.

No problem with any of that, except the expensive ass bike. As a cyclist myself a really good competition bike (road not mountain) goes for $2500. But I was refering to the Enron douches who spend 10k on shower cutains. Saabs and a nice home theater is completly game though

sckonkh: FishyFred: sckonkh: Im not rich but I hope I would be able to live within my means if I was making that much money and not splurg it on stupid material crap.

Hey, come on. You can splurge on the occasional stupid material crap. You should see our home theater. My dad bought a $5000 bike because he's picked up cycling as a hobby.

I think the key is that we've lived in the same house for 20 years, our mortgage is under control, and we don't own any other land. My dad also isn't a flashy cars kind of guy. He favored Saab for many years because he could afford it and because they are fantastically reliable. But that would be the most expensive car we've ever owned leased.

No problem with any of that, except the expensive ass bike. As a cyclist myself a really good competition bike (road not mountain) goes for $2500. But I was refering to the Enron douches who spend 10k on shower cutains. Saabs and a nice home theater is completly game though

My shower curtains are made out of polymerized vaginal secretions from Marylin Monroe

man, life is just f***ing hard, isn't it?

discount sushi: That wouldn't be a problem Mona and Amar didn't treat his stock options and bonuses as regular income. If they lived like they only made $200k (his base salary) a year this wouldn't be affecting them so much.

ONLY made 200k?! My household of 5 makes do on about $85k/year.

/I'm the maid, our watercraft is a rubber ducky, we get $20 haircuts, and we use the scratchy toilet paper

sckonkh: No problem with any of that, except the expensive ass bike. As a cyclist myself a really good competition bike (road not mountain) goes for $2500.

I second that. I know quite a few people who bike a LOT. Even the ones who do the 150 mile rides haven't spent much more than $1k on a bike.

It's just not really necessary unless you need to shave an extra ounce or two off in order to shave a few tenths of a second off your race time :)

Pocket Ninja:


All of your words are in a green box for some reason...

girljen: and we use the scratchy toilet paper

I'd quit drinking beer before I let anything less than the softest two-ply touch my delicate asshole.

Four hundred dollar haircuts???? Must have the same barber as John Edwards.

Funny... I was saying two weeks ago, that I was kinda glad I waas already "poor". I wontbe freaking out like these folks...

Just a thought...

Polymerized Vaginal Secretions... I think I saw them at CBGBs back in '82

I'm gonna go ahead and throw this out there: if your family makes $200,000 a year you are not middle class of any type. You are rich. You aren't super rich, but you certainly aren't middle class, regardless of a qualifier.

I suppose the one possible way you could get away with it is if you happen to live in downtown NYC, London, SF, etc. And even that is really, really, really stretching it.

And this, this is why I have absolutely no sympathy for people enjoying a signficiantly higher quality of life to the point that they can afford to waste money having their taxes raised a few percent.

FishyFred: sckonkh: Im not rich but I hope I would be able to live within my means if I was making that much money and not splurg it on stupid material crap.

Hey, come on. You can splurge on the occasional stupid material crap. You should see our home theater. My dad bought a $5000 bike because he's picked up cycling as a hobby.

I think the key is that we've lived in the same house for 20 years, our mortgage is under control, and we don't own any other land. My dad also isn't a flashy cars kind of guy. He favored Saab for many years because he could afford it and because they are fantastically reliable. But that would be the most expensive car we've ever owned leased.

The only thing less attractive than hearing people brag about their money and possessions is hearing them brag about their farking parents' money and possessions.

ever so often a hooker gets punched in the face and robbed.

gold diggers just have to downgrade their lifestyle or trade up to their husbands superiors.