Really, $500,000?

An article was written in the New York Times which expressed how the $500,000 salary cap for top executives of companies who receive bailout money is really just not enough for these families to survive. The reporter writes how these men (and he points out that the population about to be affected really is basically all men) have become accustomed to a certain lifestyle and that lifestyle defines their beings and we really need to be more sensitive about this.

Throughout the article he quotes prices as they relate the the individual's life. I understand that co-ops are very expensive to own and maintain. But really, I am supposed to feel sorry for the family that wants keep on a nanny for $45,000 and send their child to private school that costs $32,000/student? The article continues to say that in order for the child to stay competitive in the school, tutors are a must, and SAT prep tutors will be needed as well costing the family about $3,175 for 30 weeks. Maybe, the kid isn't smart enough to stay in the school he was bought into and should go to a less intense institution where he can actually survive on his own?

The article continues on with costs of maintaining the second home in Southampton (mortgage payments annualized to $240,000) and the necessary two family vacations for about $16,000. The costs of drivers, chauffeurs, and personal trainers all go into this huge equation that ends with the notion that in order to keep up this lifestyle the man of the house needs to be pulling in at least 1.6 million. Oh did I mention the reporter added in $35,000 for the wife's ball gowns because she will go to about 3-4 of them in a year and she couldn't bear to wear the same dress twice!

One interesting point is that:

a nonprofit research group in Manhattan, estimates it takes $123,322 to enjoy the same middle-class life as someone earning $50,000 in Houston.

I don't quite understand why the reporter threw that fact in there as he is not defending a middle-class lifestyle. Beyond that, he seems to be defending the idea that these individuals shouldn't have to cut back because their lifestyle has become their identity. Perhaps the current situation should make the exes look back and reevaluate their priorities? Or at least understand how the rest of live...