The "Boot Theory" of Socioeconomic Unfairness

In the brilliant novel Men At Arms (1993) by Terry Pratchett, my favorite character Sam Vines muses about why the rich are so rich and why the poor stayed so poor.  It came down to one simple fact: the rich spend less money.   

"Take boots, for example. He earned $38 a month plus allowances. A really good pair of leather boots cost $50. But an affordable pair of boots, which were sort of OK for a season or two and then leaked like hell when the cardboard gave out, cost about $10.

Those were the kind of boots Vimes always bought, and wore until the soles were so thin that he could tell where he was in Ankh-Morpork on a foggy night by the feel of the cobbles.

But the thing was that good boots lasted for years and years. A man who could afford $50 had a pair of boots that'd still be keeping his feet dry in 10 years' time, while the poor man who could only afford cheap boots would have spent a hundred dollars on boots in the same time and would still have wet feet."

Next time we are tempted to criticize someone for spending more money living in a hotel room than it would cost to live in an apartment, let's please ask ourselves: Where is the first, last, and security deposit coming from? 

Next time we criticize the "poor nutritional choices" someone makes, let's please ask ourselves: Do they have a stove?  Know how to cook?  Are they able to afford more expensive non-processed foods?

Next time we criticize someone for not having any savings, let's please ask ourselves: Who taught me how to open a bank account?  Who taught me how to budget?  Am I a person who makes enough money to be able to save something each month?

I don't have answers to how to "solve" socioeconomic unfairness.  I just try to look on other people with grace and mercy and compassion, doing the little that I'm able in order to help.  I'm not perfect at it, but I'd like to think I'm getting a little better.

Photo: Andrew Linnett/MOD