Rich Envy

I deliver pizza to mini castles.

I deliver pizza in Brentwood, TN, the richest part of the 17th richest county in the nation. Every day is like a tour of the "rich and famous," although not usually the famous part. Yesterday, I delivered a pizza and an order of buffalo wings to the back of a brand new subdivision with homes "Starting in the 800's." That's about 7 times the amount of house I will likely purchase when I finally get around to my first mortgage.

I'm supposed to feel jealous. I don't.

I'm not even going to take the "I bet their lives are really miserable" argument. You know, the one that all the television shows and movies tell us is true. Rich girl escaping from her mini castle which is really a prison to run off with the poor happy free-spirited guy in a pick-up truck. Money doesn't make for happiness, but I don't think it makes for a horrible life, either.

So what's my reaction? Good for you, I say. To the guy about 10 years older than me playing in the backyard with his two sons and his two pedigree-looking boxers, I bear you no ill-will just because the 5 dollar tip you gave me was 1/3 of my hourly wage and probably 1/60th of yours.

The rhetoric is that these rich people who object to paying taxes are greedy. They've had unfair advantages from their parents. They've risen to the top by being an unethical capitalist, standing on the throats of those below them.

Maybe it's all true, although I doubt it. I find it hard to believe that most of these people don't work hard for their money, unless they're entertainers (no offense).

A little over 15% of American households earn over $100,000 annually. 56% make between $25-100k. 29% make less than that (and a majority of these households have no one working). The gap is growing between the rich and poor.

I wonder if this has anything to do with the loss of the "I can have this" attitude that has been replaced by the "You shouldn't have this because I don't" attitude.

Envy has replaced ambition.

Those who talk of "personal responsibility" are almost always the have's. I am a under 30K, under the poverty line "have not," and I say, take personal responsibility. Stop hating the rich. We have a system of taxation that takes a majority of money from the top.

Which, if you stop and think about it, means the rich have paid for our roads, our schools, our police officers, and so on.

As for me, I made around $28k last year. The federal government kicked me back, after not paying any income taxes, $9k, so, thanks to the rich taxpayers, I came home with $37k last year. I have $950/month (over $10k annually) to buy my family food. I have free health insurance.

Basically, because of taxes, my income of $28k stretches out to look something more like $50k.

Thank you, rich taxpayers, for doubling my salary.

But I have to wonder if the comfort level of life that even us living below the poverty line can achieve (provided we can manage our own money) has sapped our own ambition. Why would I want to spend so much energy trying to achieve comfort for my family when it's being handed to me?

Perhaps I've gotten lazy. Perhaps the rich of America owe it to the rest of us for them being so lucky while we're not. All I know is that I have no personal reason to resent the rich and no justification in piling more taxes upon them.

Because just maybe when the gap between the rich and the poor disappears in America, we will all be at the bottom instead of the top.