YES, YOU CAN BE TOO RICH OR TOO THIN

“You can never be too rich or too thin”

-       Attributed to Wallis Simpson, among others.

 

I beg to differ, Wallis.

Some time ago, I found myself alone in an airport with a few hours to kill before my next flight.  Looking for a mindless way to pass the time, I went to a newsstand and bought a couple of magazines.  Upon opening one, I was confronted with a familiar sight -- the first ten or so pages consisted entirely of photos of emaciated young models, wearing frowns (they never smile), and posing their puny bodies in aid of selling one thing or another.  

Without hesitation, I sat down on a bench and proceeded to tear out said pages.  As I was energetically tearing, a woman unknown to me came over to cheer me on.

"Don't those pictures drive you crazy," she asked.

"Yes," said I, ripping with ever greater enthusiasm.

I was on a roll.

Of course, my ripping out the pages was not going to change long-standing advertising strategies.  Still, I refuse to spend time looking at these images.  It infuriates me to have our daughters (and ourselves) presented with images of dangerously underweight women as if this were something to aspire to.  

We don't have to buy into this, do we?

Let me assure you that this is not the sour grapes of a woman with a large body. I have always been naturally thin.  (At least until menopause when, I gained a bit around my middle). My weight, however, is not a sign of virtue or of any particular effort on my part.  And I certainly don't aspire to look like those models.  In fact, at my age, too much weight loss is a sign of either illness or drug addiction.

Indeed, I suspect there are drugs involved in keeping those models so painfully thin.  

But, maybe it isn’t the models I need to concern myself with.  After all, if young people are reading magazines at all, they are probably reading them online, where ads can be skipped over.  Maybe I should be turning my attention to social media “influencers” bent on convincing average-sized young girls that they need to lose weight.  Down that road lie anorexia and self-loathing.  

I sure don’t want that to be the future for my toddler granddaughters.

So, yes, Wallis, it is possible to be too thin, and to create unhappiness by urging people in that direction.

And what of the notion that one can never be too rich?

I know there are plenty of people in this world who would conclude that I--sitting in my comfortable house, with a car in the garage, and a bit of disposable income--am too rich.  But for purposes of this post, I am confining myself to the filthy rich, the one percent.

Elon Musk’s wealth is estimated at $221.4 billion.  Jeff Bezos’ net worth is $210.2 billion, while Bill Gates comes in at $133.3 billion.  These are big numbers, and when we put them in perspective, they look even more alarming. A quick Google search revealed that the top one percent of Americans control more wealth than the entire middle class combined, with the middle class defined as the middle 60 percent of households by income.  

Okay.  That was wealth.  Let’s look at income for a minute. Social security data reveals that the average annual wage of the bottom 90 percent is $40,928; the average wage of those in the 90^th to 99^th percentile is $187,609; and the average wage of the top one percentile is $916,928.  Parsing things even further, the top .1 percentile earns an average of $3.7 million. 

One more figure:  CEOs were paid 399 times as much as a typical worker in 2021.

Enough with the numbers.***  It is clear that a few people control most of the wealth in this country, and that a great swath of our citizenry is scraping by, while their bosses get richer and richer. 

So, yes, I would argue it is possible to be too rich. Embarrassingly rich. And yet I suspect that the mega rich, cocooned in their bubbles of wealth, are not embarrassed.  (Asking for a friend – Do they not realize that if our way of life topples under the weight of their wealth, they will not be spared the fallout?  Do they not see that if their greed overcomes environmental concerns, their children will inherit a dying planet? That income and wealth inequity lead to social unrest?)

It is said that power corrupts.  So, I think, does great wealth. And they usually go together.  On that note, I will leave you with this suggestion. If you want an example of how power and money corrupt, get yourself a copy of Empire of Pain:  The Secret History of the Sackler Dynasty by Patrick Radden Keefe. There you will read of the corruption, not only of a family, but of the lawyers and doctors they drew into their web, along with the FDA and the DEA.  As this book demonstrates, very few are immune to the twin siren calls of money and power. 

One last thing.  Perhaps it is time to update the adage with which I began this post.  How about this?  You can’t be too kind or too healthy.  

 

                                                     Photo by Mathieu Stern on Unsplash

*** Different studies turn up different numbers, but all demonstrate great income and wealth inequality.

 

IF I RULED THE WORLD (And Possessed the Requisite Superpowers)

           The standard workweek would be four, seven-hour days.  There would be as many 12-step groups for workaholism as there are for alcoholism.  

           In the pacific-northwest, sunny days in January and February would be holidays for non-emergency workers. 

        

           Better yet, there would be no rainy days in January and February.  (Super powers, remember.)  

           Rain would fall overnight, every other night in the summer, but never during the day.  Watering would be a thing of the past.

           The contributions of writers and other artists to society would be celebrated and financially supported by grateful and proud fellow citizens.  

            No child would ever be encouraged to choose a vocation that is “practical” over the one that captures their heart.    

            Corporate executives and others who earn sums in a week or month that ordinary mortals would not dream of earning in a lifetime would suffer intolerable shame, and feel compelled to prove their worth as human beings by devoting 90 percent of their income to good works.  This would still leave them with more income than 99 percent of the residents of planet earth.  (Note to conservatives – this is not socialism; it is self-correction.)

            There would be no organized sports for kids under the age of 10.  Informal games, such as stickball, would be encouraged.  Parents who behave badly at their children’s sporting events would be assigned to a program to help them develop their own interests. 

            The basic food, housing, education, and healthcare needs of all world citizens would be met before a penny was spent by any nation on its military.  (Meeting said needs would undoubtedly reduce the need for military spending.)  World leaders would be trained to "use their words" instead of their weapons.

            There would be no "bad schools." Tax revenues would be pooled to provide equal funding across school districts.  

            Advertising in schools would be illegal.        

            Junk food in school cafeterias would be illegal.  Knowledgeable un- and underemployed cooks and chefs would be paid a living wage to create enticing and nutritious meals for kids.

            Children would not be allowed to carry more than ten percent of their body weight in their backpacks.

            All automobiles would have to get at least 60 mpg. 

            There would be a stiff annual surtax on SUVs.  Persons who could demonstrate that they actually require such vehicles to navigate rough weather conditions could apply for a waiver.    

            Anyone leaving their car running while stopped for more than a minute would be fined.

            It would at least as difficult to obtain a license to bear arms as to obtain a license to drive a car.  

            The owner of an unsecured firearm used by someone else to cause injury or death either purposely or accidentally would be charged with a felony.

            Owning an assault weapon would be a felony.

            Pesticides would be controlled substances that could not be bought without a prescription from a person certified in integrated pest management.

            Companies that sell themselves as lawn services and indiscriminately bomb lawns with a chemical mix would be illegal.  The owners of yard care companies with the words “chemical” or “chem” in their names would be declared illegal aliens and returned to the planet whence they came.

            Bad pruning would be a crime. The first offense would be a misdemeanor, punishable with mandatory pruning school.  After that, the crimes would be classified as felonies--treeslaughter, intentional arborcide, involuntary arborcide etc.

            Airline seats would be large enough to comfortably accommodate average-sized adults.

            All malls would be dismantled and replaced by greenways.  

            No child would have to compete with an electronic device for their parent’s attention.  Same in reverse.  Use of cell phones would be forbidden during all meals.  Always.  Everywhere. 

            Christmas would be more like Thanksgiving – food, family, friends, fun, and less like, well, Christmas as we know it, with its emphasis on shopping and presents.

            Households that had the TV on less than 10 hours a week would get an income tax deduction.  Those with the TV on less than 5 hours a week would get an income tax credit.

           Chocolate would be the major source of protein and would contain no calories.  

            

                  

   photo by Church of the King on Unsplash