Washington Post Tells Poor People That They Aren’t Allowed Vacations

According to the Washington Post and their Personal Finance columnist, Michelle Singletary, only the well-to-do folks amongst us are allowed a vacation and seemingly any fragment of enjoyment.

Michelle uses her introductory sentence to show us that she knows how to form an argument and get people on her side: by patronising them.

Singletary begins, “Nothing makes me crazier than when people deep in debt try to persuade me that they are being financially responsible because they ‘saved up’ for their vacation”. The pretentious Washington Post columnist has since stated on social media that her intention was to let cash-strapped families know that they don’t “deserve” anything, vacation included.

The debate continued on Singletary’s Twitter page, as she posted a follow up tweet stating that it was simply that people don't deserve anything, as well as attempting to tell them ways in which their money could be put to better use.. but then you read the rest of her dog turd slapped on to a page (an ‘article’).

In the very next breath, Singletary decides to stick it to those undeserving peasants once more and tells them, “And I’m not impressed that you saved up for a summer trip to Walt Disney World with your children when you haven’t even set up a college fund for them”.

Speaking as someone whose family is inbetween the lower and middle classes, we’ve never felt like we deserve a vacation, or anything for that matter. What families like mine realise is that your children are only young once, seeing Mickey, Minnie and the gang in costume is usually incrediblely exciting for them at the earlier stages of their lives, why should they be deprived of this joy because work hours have dried up or an unexpected expense?

Singletary continues, “I’m not saying you shouldn’t enjoy your vacation time. Take your time off. Relax. But you don’t have to go away.” Of course there isn’t a single mention of an actual family who has decided to spend every last penny to jet to the Bahamas, knowing that they won’t have enough money to pay any unresolved debts and are fine with debt collectors taking away their possessions when they get back.

Singletary knows this, and that’s why this article is so demeaning and patronising. It wasn’t written as a helpful guide for poorer people, it was written with the sole purpose of her telling us what she thinks downtrodden families do, and used the opportunity to bash those very people. The word snob comes to mind.