“It is an unfortunate human failing that a full pocket-book often groans more loudly than an empty stomach.” – Franklin D. Roosevelt

Inside the Mind of the Not-Quite-Rich Leftist 

I’ve never been inside his/her mind, but I have been inside my own 21-year-old mind, and so this is what I imagine… 

The world is full of people that have less than I do. I see them on the streets, in the media, and even in my workplace. They are just scraping by.

It’s depressing. They live in dirty, crappy houses. They drive, if they drive at all, dented-up, gas-guzzling junk heaps. They have no idea how to dress. Their hygiene could be better. And to be honest, they don’t seem all that bright.

I generally keep my distance from these people. I observe them from afar. But you can’t avoid them. They’ll be waiting on you in a restaurant or sitting next to you at a ballgame or even standing next to you in line at the supermarket.

It’s not that I’m afraid of them. Quite the opposite! I feel tolerance – even compassion – for them. I’ve talked to a lot of these people over the years – when they come to my house to do repairs or are driving me to the airport –  and I have to tell you, many of them are salt-of-the-earth. I mean good-hearted, earnest, even hardworking.

I feel a little embarrassed by the fact that I clearly make more and have more than they do. Embarrassed and more than a little guilty. I worry that they may think badly of me for being better off. Meanwhile, I genuinely wish the best for them.

I truly hope for a better world – a  world where everyone makes at least a living wage and has free health care and all the basics to lead a comfortable and respected life.  (A world, frankly, that doesn’t make good and sensitive people like me feel guilty.)

But hoping for a better world – however much it proves that I have a good heart – is not enough. I have to do something to make that world a reality.

Luckily, there is something concrete that I can do. I can align myself with smart and caring people that think and feel as I do. I can get on social media sites and join organizations that promote ways to fix the unfair wealth and income gap. And I can vote for candidates that share my good intentions.

And the great thing is, there is an easy fix. We simply have to raise taxes on the rich to pay for the solutions we need.

Who are the rich?

Well, not me. Yes, yes, I’m in the top percentile of the country in terms of my income and my net worth. But I’m not rich. I’m just comfortable.

And anyway, I worked hard for what I have. And I deserve it. Hell, if you want to know the truth, I deserve more. I mean, hell… I work my ass off. I’m busting it and, yes, I am doing well. But I’m not rich.

The rich fuckers are the people that have a lot more than I do. Like my SOB boss… and that idiot broker who built that vulgar mansion on the corner.

They’re the ones that are going to pay for our plans. And they should pay. I mean really, we know what they are – rapacious, unscrupulous monsters that are getting rich off of the hard work of honest people like me. And what’s worse, they are exploiting all those unfortunate people that are making less than half of what I’m making.

These scumbags make their money by breaking the rules and sometimes breaking the law. It’s a disgrace the way they get away with it. And to think… I have more integrity than any of them. But they just skate by, getting richer every day and acting like they deserve it.

If they had two brain cells to rub together, they would welcome the chance to solve all of the problems of the world by paying for it out of their taxes.

That’s definitely the solution to the wealth and income gap. Just take back most of the ill-gotten gains that the rich stole in the first place and give it to the good people that deserve it.

That’s what I think we should do. It’s the obvious solution, and I feel good about it. And I feel very good about being one of the people that are actively changing the world for the better by writing books and essays, by making speeches, and by telling “our truth” to whomever will listen.

[Coming soon: Inside the Mind of the Not-Rich-Enough Conservative]