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Friday, January 31st, 2003To the Editors of RealSimple Magazine:
I am disgusted at the example you chose for this month’s Priorities.
I’m sure the Dennises are lovely people, and I’m sure you meant well, but the fact of the matter is that with an income of $175K a year AND $35K set aside for emergencies AND $28K in retirement, they have more money than 96% of Americans.
How is this helpful to the average person? Implying these people need any help at all is an insult to every reader who has NO savings–much less the 2 months’ salary that is universally suggested–and 2 sets of grandparents donating to the college funds.
Every parent wants the best education for their child they can possibly afford. For too many Americans, that consists of the local community college, the increasingly threadbare public university system (complete with crushing debt for years to come), or NO COLLEGE AT ALL. Showing a minimum-wage single mother how to prepare for her children’s future would have been a better use of your advisors’ time. Instead you’ve as much as told her not to bother.
Sincerely,
M.L.
Philadelphia, PA