Recently, I had a brief conversation with Barabbas over at Insanity Bytes. The gist concerns whether or not it’s reasonable for hard-working people, often surviving paycheck-to-paycheck, to treat themselves from time to time. Barabbas had this to say:
Make more, spend less, save as much as you can, get out of debt as soon as possible. Stop spending stupid money (6 bucks for a med coffee). Live on less and well within your means. Yes… lower your “standard of living”. Don’t spend stupid money on stupid stuff
Now, you can see the conversation for yourself, but I thought I’d organise my thoughts on this matter into a post. What Barabbas has to say is not, on the face of it, unreasonable, but there is an undercurrent of judgement, not to mention ignorance, running through his entire comment.
We live in a world where the disparity between rich and poor has never been greater. The cost of living is spiralling far quicker than wages are rising, whilst those at the top are raking in record profits and granting themselves enough wealth to spaff away on obscene vanity projects. Yet somehow, fiscal responsibility is the sole dominion of the working class. The ones asked to – and expected to – tighten their belts are the ones who already do so, and then, for having the audacity to want to actually live, rather than just survive, the likes of Barabbas come down upon them.
Austerity is always pushed upon those who are already struggling. Corporations cut costs via cutting workforces (driving more people into despair), yet they also raise prices, and those at the top award themselves bonuses and pay rises that far exceed inflation (and indeed, decency). Everyone else is expected to suffer. I fail to see how that is reasonable.
Gabrielle (aka InsanityBytes) replied thusly:
LOL! You know I’m going to disagree, right? Lowering your standard of living and shaming people for buying fancy coffee is punitive and related to deprivation. People feeling punished, shamed, and deprived is very often the root of the problem. Then we go and imply they don’t deserve a fancy coffee because they are stupid.
She is right. The manner in which those who are working hard yet getting little to show for it are punished for wanting to make life more bearable, just so the rich and powerful can be more comfortable, speaks to heavily indocrinated thinking.
Should people aim to be smart with money? Always. Spending what’s not there is usually a recipe for disaster. That doesn’t mean everyone should have to live like hermits, and be deprived of little comforts every now and then. These small acts are not why people are in debt, or struggling to make ends meet. You can thank the absurd rents, mortgage rates, and the general cost of living for that. You can look to those in power and those who make policy for why wages have been massively outstripped by inflation, and and look to those same people for why so many more can only just get by, even on $300,000 a year!
Stop blaming the poor. Stop punching down.
Thank you for the kind mention. Much appreciated.