Letter from the One Percent

The purpose of this letter is to put a face to the ones who are often so hated by much of the populace (the now-defunct Occupy Wall Street movement epitomized this attitude) for being wealthy, “The One Percent” as they are called.  In particular, they are the ones that have an approximate income of over 500,000 dollars per year.  The resentment, wherever it stems from is beyond the scope of this piece.  To that end, I have written a story conflated from the anecdotes of four individuals with whom I am acquainted in real life to various degrees. All the stories are true. 

Dear Occupy Wall Street,

Let me begin by posing a question: if someone were to make an unkind generalization about a certain group of people, what would you call it?  What is the word for hating individuals based on some aspect of them?  It would be called prejudice, ageism, sexism, racism, etc.  These things are all highly frowned upon in the modern world and yet one group remains that is fashionably hated by you and in popular culture.  “Income-bracket-ism” doesn’t quite have the same ring to it as the others, but the same mean spirit pervades them all.  So why do you hate the most wealthy of America, the “One Percent” as you call us?  Is it from jealousy?  Does it seem to be unfair?  Is it because if your minds, we are the ones that “steal” money from the hard working people like you?  Let me ask you a question: have you ever thought that we may deserve the paychecks we receive?  After all, shouldn’t a person be compensated for the value they create in the economy?  A factory worker and an investment banker both do work that makes the world better off.  It is different work, but they both add value and so deserve their compensation. 

But you reply: why the huge gap between what I earn and what the average American earns?  What did I do to deserve so much more?  Well it turns out that I do a lot more work than the average American.  Have you heard of the hundred-hour work week?  That’s my life as an investment banker.  Do you think I go home at 5 to my wife, kids, and dog?  No!  Work takes the vast majority of my time.  Perhaps you ask, “What kind of life is that with so much work?”  I sense a tone of judgment but respond that you have no right to judge my lifestyle any more than I do yours.  Though, to be fair, I will only be doing this for a few years because I have other plans for the future.  Further, you should know that I don’t do it for the money.  As one wise man said, “my paycheck is seeing my ideas implemented!”  Everyone knows that money doesn’t buy happiness but they live like it does.  The truth is: I work for the thrill of the hunt and a love of the game.  The job itself, “seeing my ideas implemented” gives far more satisfaction than a fat paycheck.

I also want to let you Occupiers know that you don’t get your way just by complaining and whining about it.  I learned this lesson at a very young age when my parents didn’t just hand me everything I wanted.  Here’s the secret to actually getting something: you have to work for it.  Another lesson I learned: if you don’t grind, you don’t shine.  Ask anyone who makes six figures how they got there.  They won’t say it was handed to them and it certainly wasn’t handed to me.  In college, when my peers would get drunk and high, I studied.  When they wasted their time on whatever it is that college kids waste their time on, I studied.  During the summers, I worked.  I worked in a recycling warehouse forty hours a week and was subjected to terrible verbal abuse.  With the money I made, I saved and invested when my co-workers blew their paychecks on second Xboxes…despite sometimes being on welfare.  When the burden of that life seemed too much to bear, I remembered that it was only temporary and that it was simply part of the grind before the inevitable shine.  In another job, I was promoted before people who had more experience and knowledge than me for one reason: I worked harder than the rest.  Experience is just a matter of time and knowledge can be gained, but a strong work ethic comes from within and can only be taught to oneself.  I do not tell you this to boast, but because I want you to know that diligence is rewarded.

A common complaint, a stereotype, is that the “One Percent” are corrupt crooks that prey on everyone else’s money.  Well it isn’t unfounded because that has certainly happened.  But I wish to remind you that any other person might do the same thing if given the opportunities that my peers were.  After all, don’t you know poor people that are also inclined to unkindness?  Do you know people who are wealthy but kind and generous?  Do you know poor people that are kind and generous?  Income is a terrible judge of a person.  All that income tells you about someone is how much money they make.  Furthermore, people have identities outside of their work!  Who I am is not tied to what I do.  I get far more satisfaction from and find meaning in giving of myself for the betterment of others.  I use my business experience to go to the Third World and teach people how to start and manage their own businesses.  I provide them with loans to buy equipment, amounts too great to be filled by microloans but that banks will not provide because the recipients do not qualify for them.  Again, I don’t tell you this to brag because I’m sure that many people do what I do, as would many more if they had the opportunity.  But as it stands, everyone does their piece for humanity according to their means and their contributions are all valuable.  In light of this, I ask that you give up your hatred for me and my peers and direct your energies to more constructive ends. 

            Sincerely, a person just like you

You know he made Microsoft, but he does other things too.