So yesterday news broke up regarding the Portfolio.com article by a mystery “TARP wife”. For those of you who haven’t read about this article. It chronicles that devastating poverty (note my sarcasm) of the wife of a investment CEO. She details day to day experiences such as shopping in her own closet, forgoing a Michelin-starred restaurant for her husband’s birthday celebration and –gasp- reveals the fact that she has not bought anything but pantyhose and makeup this year. I seriously doubt that last statement but still life must be just SO horrible when you can only spend money on your high end makeup toiletries. I mean this lady is really cutting back where it matters! She has stopped using her house accounts at high end luxury department stores and only uses them for necessary gifts. I’m sure most people would love to have house account at moderately priced stores or even just the supermarket these days. I might feel more empathy and less apathy towards her situation if she at least had to close her house accounts at the luxury department stores. I mean sure there are people out there that have it worse but at least that would be a significant change from the lifestyle she is accustomed to.
NY Magazine’s Daily Intel is hypothesizing that the mystery TARP wife is Liz Peek, wife of CITI Group’s Jeffrey Peek. I’m not trying to be hard on ‘TARP’ wife. In fact I think its sweet that she’s sticking with her TARP husband and all. There are perhaps a few ladies out there that would have jumped shipped on their significant other during this time period. Anyone who returns lavish birthday presents from her husband to save money and doesn’t share that burden of information with him to save his ego and emotions, has to be a good person. And while I released a flurry of sarcastic comments in the first paragraph, I do feel some empathy for this lady. Sure, she’s still living a life that even by her own admission is still wealthy but her life HAS changed and it is different from the life that she has known; thus her new life requires some adjustments that she is not used to.
It wasn’t long ago that America celebrated successful companies and the people who run them. My husband, CEO of one of the biggest TARP recipients, has received more than his share of accolades (in my opinion, well deserved). But because of a few tin-eared nitwits who failed to notice that their industry was under siege, the entire country now thinks that TARP bankers are greedy incompetents dedicated to ripping off taxpayers. “TARP Wife”
This is reminiscent of a ‘damned if you do, damned if you don’t situation’. And not matter what TARP wife says or does we will still bitterly criticize and judge the comments of this privileged woman who reaps the benefits of her Wall Street husbands riches. TARP wife should realize that there are repercussions to EVERYTHING. So yes, you live a plush life but you must understand that harsh judgment and less empathy are your bed mates. If the judgment and apathy one encounters with a plush life are too much of a nuisance I suppose you could always downgrade your income and supplement it with all the understanding a middle class income can give you.
"G"
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