Tuesday, November 11, 2008

Cost of Living

I have a theory on why movie stars get $400 haircuts.

For the most part, their haircuts don't look better than the half price on Tuesdays $35 haircuts my guy Matt can give. And look at John Edwards, not that he's a movie star, but he paid $400 to look like a ten year old boy from the 50s. He could have achieved the same effect at the barber for $10.

Rich people need to pay more for their goods and services. Their personal trainers must charge $350 an hour. They need them to. If wealthy people didn't overpay, they would spiritually implode.

Let's say hypothetically Obama's $250,000 a year definition of wealthy is all you need to have everything you could want life: a good haircut, three tiered teak deck, European vacations, a nip, tuck, summer home, a dog walker and a chef.

If you are a millionaire, any money you earn over $250,000 just sits there collecting dust. There's nothing like bags of unspent money to make someone feel uneasy and that perhaps they have more than they deserve and therefore somewhat dirty.

Overpriced goods and services to the rescue. Wealthy people give each other expensive jewelry and have walk in closets the size of most people's homes and two hundred pairs of shoes not because they love all that stuff but because there is a natural law that says you must spend at least 90 percent of what you earn. You get Matt's $35 half price on Tuesday haircuts and you're never going to spend that million.

Here's a $29,000 chair made of half dollars to get you started on your spending spree. Me, I'm going to be satisfied with my $250,000.

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