To Those Who Think I’m too Hard on Rich People

by Mona Shaw

There is no way to confront economic inequality without rich people feeling shamed. And even thin morality requires that economic inequality be addressed.

I am a low-income Iowa grandmother. I have absolutely no institutional power over the rich. Still, I wish no less for them than I wish for the poor.

Are the rich denied healthcare because they can’t afford it?  Is a rich mother tearful because she can’t afford to order out for a pizza for the kids? Are the rich signing up for Toys for Tots? Are the rich living in their cars even though they work full-time? Are the rich waiting in a long food bank line?  Are the rich agonizing whether to pay the utility bill or buy insulin? Are the rich doing a GoFundMe to pay for a funeral for their loved one who died because they bought shoes for their child instead of insulin?

There are millions of people working in sweat shops who have the intelligence to cure cancer. Yet, they are denied education, while the rich can buy the admission of their academically mediocre children into Ivy League schools.

The irony of rich people complaining about being shamed is not lost on me.  The poor are shamed every waking moment of their lives (and in their nightmares for that matter).  Everything in this culture suggests they are inferior to those with wealth. Every time a worker is expected to call a boss by their sir name, “Okay, Mr. Jones,” while they are called by their first name, “Get this done this morning, Judy,” is humiliating.  Rich kids are never bullied about their clothes, but poor kids are.  Rich are kids are never told they can’t be friends because they live on the wrong side of the tracks.

Every suggestion that the rich are in any way smarter or work harder or in any way more worthy is not only humiliating. It is a lie that wears on the soul in ways the rich can’t imagine. There is no meritocracy in America. This popular myth is still a myth. The poor and working-class are not only demeaned for their economic status, they are blamed for it.

I would posit that the wealthy being shamed is relatively inconsequential karma.

I’m not worried about rich people. They have an entire system at their back, and they can afford to buy all the positive P.R. they want.  Indeed, the health insurance industry is spending millions right now to lie to the disadvantaged to continue to build wealth on their very ability to survive.

I’m also not worried about shaming them making them less likely to share their ill-gotten money.  If coddling and fawning over them led them to share, they’d have done it already.

I’m an advocate for poor, working poor, and working-class people. I’m seeking to flip over a system that hurts them. The rich don’t need me. And, I want to create a world in which the rest of us don’t need them.