Rich people, Frugal or Miserly?
When a rich person (when I say rich I mean a person with a level of net worth – not a level of spending) spends frugally – is he being miserly or being sensible?
Frankly I do not know and do not really worry about what other people think – but to me many of them are sensible. For example I know of a person living in one of Mumbai’s suburbs owning a Merc – and happily travelling by public transport.
Downsizing ones life is a super way to early retirement. …But having said all this can one person really live on say Rs. 32 a day? Here is an experiment..
http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/columns/Harsh_Mander/article2882340.ece
Jayant
Very touching article! Eating out in expensive restaurant to make good week end is necessary?
Geo
subra
One of the best articles you have posted. Made me feel guilty about my overspending ways when 400 million Indians are worried about where their next meal is going to come from.
shinu
Hats off to the younsters. The same for those who believe in food security bill and guatenteed jobs… If a democracy cannot ensure the minimal basics for over 2/3rd of the population all the talk of growth, super power, socialism are all just crap. There are gaps/ holes but to fill the gaps is the real challange for the benefit of the country. What is the use of millions in our accounts if our neighbors and brothers are starving? The most important thing each of us need to understand is – we are what we are is just because of the lucky opportunities we just born into and grown up with and surrounded with…
Was wondering why the poverty live was not pegged in dollar terms or inflation adjusted some indexes..
Suresh
A slave nation deserves no more. Lets at least thank our masters they allocate 32 rupees a day for us. It could be worse..
Unless of course we wish to free ourselves. And try and bring the 700 billion dollars(or what ever the current estimate is) stashed away abroad.
anon
Sobering.
Hats off to the boys.
and as my maid said the other day taking yet another loan from the moneylender– “our lives will never change.” yes, her kids go to her English school but the peers are loafers.
pravin
this is bogus guilt tripping. a rich person’s consumption doesnt come at the cost of the poor persons ability to eat food or get shelter.
also,harsh mander,is like a typical leftist twisting facts about the rs 26/32 argument. the amount was per person and not per family.for a typical poor family of 6 people.that would be around 5,800 per month.now that is a poor man’s wage alright,but lets not pretend many families dont survive on such low incomes.my building’s security guard’s family does so on it.it is penurious life,but it is not slavery.
the idea that poverty can be removed by rich people distributing their ‘non needed’ money fails logic.i am tired of passionate defense of the foolish.
the question to be asked is: WHY IS THERE POVERTY.
pravin
not to mention it is inflation(created by the RBI and other central banks of the world’s money printing -and not because of wage inflation and other nonsensical ideas) that is robbing the poorest of the ability to save.5800 rs is worth nothing BECAUSE of inflation.
and what do the bleeding heart+soft heads suggest as a solution? more inflation by the govt.print more money,more theft by the unproductive bureaucracy.
this is beyond bizzare.
Dr Mohammed Ali Khan
@ Pravin
Don’t trust any economic articles coming out of ” The Hindu”
I should have been named ” The Soviet” or ” The Communist” instead
amol
@Dr. Khan
Why not trust on economic articles coming out of “The Hindu” ?
Any personal reason ?
Dr. Mohammed Ali Khan
@Amol
The Hindu newspaper has a clear left-wing/Socialist bias. (Also, an anti-India bias.)
And, history has shown that application of left-wing ideology ( derived from Marxist/Communist/Socialist ideology ) always had been a disaster to the economies concerned and the tragedy to the people trapped in such societies. They worship the State/ Government and denigrate the free-market, when infact to have a healthy and vibrant economy, it should be the opposite!
subra
ha ha utopian Ayn Rand, Alan Greenspan, Ben Bernanke at work..again..
amol
@Dr. Khan
I think, we should not always typecast all the information to certain agenda as you think.
this article in no sense highlights socialist or anti-india bias…
looks like you haven’t understood the message out of this article correctly
Dr. Mohammed Ali Khan
@Amol
I’m not referring to this article in particular.. It’s the general trend in The Hindu newspaper.
In my house, like any house in Chennai, our day began with The Hindu and a cup of coffee. I’ve been a regular reader for almost 15 years, so, I can say with some experience, that there is a bias.
But, if you think about it, which new source is totally unbiased?
@Subra
If Alan Greenspan and The Bernank were following Ayn Rand’s advice, they would have shut down the Federal Reserve( The largest counterfeiter in the world) and brought back the Gold Standard. The Federal reserve or for that matter any central banks, which print unbacked paper money are absolute villains in Ayn Rand’s universe.
So, you are being incorrect if you club Greenspan and Bernanke with Ayn Rand. Even though Greenspan was a one time devotee of Ayn Rand, his actions as the Fed boss was diametrically opposite to what she believed in!
If you need to club somebody with her ideology, the closest would be Ron Paul today.