So last week the Washington Post published two articles focusing on the impact of the economic downturn on area families. The first family profiled, the Coughlins, are a dual earner home with two children, who recently found out that the husband received a 10% pay cut — but their overall income is still in the “mid-$100,000’s”. The second article, discussed the Kimberlins and other families — those who are still “flush” — but tightening their purse strings even though they don’t have to.
Initially it was easy to see why some readers thought that the articles were satire. I did. The families seemed self-indulgent and clueless. The website feedback was merciless. Couldn’t the Post find some real families that were actually struggling and in crisis? Is having to cut back on maid service and pedicures a sacrifice? Cutting back “at least $250 a WEEK on clothes, dinners out and other discretionary spending” garners sympathy? Whining about not having the money to reverse a vasectomy when you already have two children? Give me a break.
Most of us are aware of people who have lost their jobs, their homes or postponed retirement — and people already living on the edge who have been pushed over the edge. What a shameful waste of an opportunity to document this crisis in a more meaningful and profound way.
