The Nation: Poor Is the New Rich!

Poor Is the New Rich!
By Annabelle Gurwitch

May 6, 2008



A week ago, the New York Times Style section ran an article about Americans' newfound openness in discussing their financial woes, signaling a new trend: poor is the new rich!

You might ask whether anything can be believed in a section of the paper that regularly reports on $950 Givenchy Gladiator boots or a satin jacket with a measurable wingspan, priced at just over $1,300--clothing for people who enjoy dressing like superheroes who time-travel back to CBGB, circa 1987. As it turns out, yes!

Last week, we few, we (un)happy few, we band of brothers--anxious parents of fourth- and fifth-graders--gathered for a meeting to discuss middle-school options for our budding scholars. After the Head of School tamely outlined the popular choices of private schools whose tuition is a relative bargain--at only one-half the cost of a $69,000 Mikimoto necklace--the Head announced, in a voice heavy with import, that unlike our little school, "These institutions put children whose families apply for financial aid into a smaller, far more competitive pool of applicants." That's when things began to heat up.

"My kid is not a genius," one mother ventured. "Do these schools consider average intelligence as part of their diversity profile? Isn't anyone looking to give financial aid to a kid with a congenial personality, good hair, but who's no Einstein?" Somehow, the administrators thought she was joking and laughed it off. She then asked, "Is being an atheist considered 'diversity' when applying to a Catholic school?" OK, that mom was me, but I wasn't kidding. It broke the dam and soon others were asking questions in the same vein.

The formerly flush, type-A parents, who previously prided themselves on comparing how busy they are (code for: I am an important, wealthy and powerful person) were all complaining about how strapped for cash they were. "What if we scrape together the first year's tuition for our little Herkimer to attend a vaunted and cash-draining institution of middle learning?" one parent suggested. "Is it possible that they will fall in love with Herky and find the money to give tuition assistance for him for the next few years?" ......(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.thenation.com/doc/20080519/gurwitch