Still Rich

Do I sense a possible money-making opportunity for the New Poor? Each day some pundit or other attacks the Still Rich for their planet-destroying pastimes. Whether it’s plasma screens, gas-guzzlers or frequent flights to the bijou second home, the affluent are leaving a legacy of destruction for their expensively educated wee ones. So, say the environmentalists, politicians and, increasingly, god’s representatives on earth.

The rich, it is argued, must learn to live on less. It’s an unexpected irony of capitalism that the affluent (or, as my Auntie likes to say: the effluent) are being targeted to curb their avarice. Stop spending, they are being told. Oh, dear. And, just how do you do that, some of them may be wondering. And, here’s where the poverty consultant comes in. For a fee, s/he can show the Still Rich how to reduce their carbon footprint on the planet and thereby ensure a future for their children and ours, too.

Basically, we will explain that what you do is you live on less and we will show them how. Once they learn that they will become free of the abuse aimed at them on radio, TV and in the press. To help them achieve that is rather priceless, I think.