Wednesday, September 14, 2011
It's time for another installment of:
This morning I glanced at the headlines of the Los Angeles Times newspaper and read that the poverty level in the United States has reached historic levels and is higher than it's ever been in more than fifty years. It's becoming quite the cliche to talk about the rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer and the middle class disappearing. The blame seems to lie on the shrinking availability of jobs.
Wow. But what do I know?
Last week I read about a woman who I went to college with who also happens to be a very powerful and very wealthy businesswoman on Wall Street. During those halcyon student days, this young woman and l lived in the same house; I even typed some of her papers for her (just so you know, I was a typist extraordinaire, typing more than 125 words per minute on my Smith Corona Electric for $1 a page). I'm not going to tell you her name, but I read in the big news last week that she had just left -- or was "let go" from -- a company that Bank of America had recently acquired and that it's possible her lawyers will negotiate a $5 to $10 million dollar severance package for her.
I also read in the paper this week that the same bank that is negotiating with the woman who I used to type papers for is also laying off up to 40,000 people.
But what do I know? I made $1.00 a page in 1985, and I remember they were really good papers.
I smell bullshit. Just sayin'.
Just sayin...I really understand what you say and feel....
ReplyDeleteThat is some kind of a deal she's cutting.
ReplyDeleteI wonder who's typing that paper?
For someone who can't type that is an impressive severance package.
ReplyDeleteAnd remember when they told us girls that we all needed to learn to type? Yeah.
ReplyDeleteOne more BS thing we should have ignored.
I say your sense of smell is right on the money. No pun intended, of course.
ReplyDeleteI heard an interesting interview on NPR today where they were talking about this very notion and even the conservative guest was lamenting the way we coddle the rich - not by not making them pay taxes, but by bailing them out when they make mistakes (like banking scandals and housing markets failing) and not letting them be treated like the average Joe who screws up. Even the conservative! When will we learn?!
ReplyDeleteThat's some crazy shit.
ReplyDeleteI failed typing. No joke.
ReplyDeleteGotta love this world we live in, uh?
sometimes poverty is a relative concept. however, $1 a page is poverty (we were "richer" in the 80s, after all) - you were exploited :)
ReplyDeletesheesh.
ReplyDeleteWow. If she spread the wealth around, think how many families she could keep from drowning.
ReplyDeleteI'd rather hang out with you than that mean lady any day of the week.
ReplyDeleteI don't know whether to scream or cry. Or both. At the same time.
ReplyDelete