Dear Rich America #
Daniel Gross pens a dissatisfied — but friendly — letter to rich America in which he implores them to be responsible and spend us out of this financial downturn. It’s a playful idea that’s certainly worthy of a read.
Yes, we’ve heard that the widespread woes of subprime borrowers are now hurting the primest of prime borrowers. (An act of karmic justice, perhaps?) Thousands of investment bankers are losing their jobs, and year-end bonuses for many on Wall Street were disappointing. We feel your pain. But that’s no reason to stop spending. Stagnant wages haven’t stopped the rest of us from dipping into our nonexistent savings to pay for bigger TVs and smaller cell phones. When we run out of cash, we borrow against our homes. Then we max out the credit cards, and start raiding 401(k)s and penny jars. We regard living beyond our means as a patriotic duty. Maybe you should too!