NEW MEXICO
The Worthy Adversary
Posted by Joelle Casteix on December 30, 2013
I have been brewing about the bankruptcy debacle in Gallup for the past few days. And I keep coming up with the same fable:
Mortimer Snerd gets a speeding ticket. Instead of paying the ticket or going to traffic school (that is, being accountable for what he has done), our pal Snerd goes to the judge and says, “I am so poor. Look at my unitemized list of belongings. I am one of the poorest people I know. I have less than a fraction of the wealth of the majority of people in Newport Beach. I live in a simple condo and a family to support. I just can’t pay what you ask.”
But the truth is this: Snerd CAN pay. He has a job, knew he was speeding, and is just trying to get out of being accountable. He can pay the fines for his transgressions. But now, he claims he’s a victim, because he is not a multi-millionaire.
Snerd wouldn’t have an argument if he lived in Boise, where the same salary puts him in the 1%. It’s all in how he chose to frame himself. He’s not poor. He’s just not mega-rich.
So, we move on to Gallup.
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