Weasley Economics

[Steve]

No: HPFGUIDX 46349

--- In HPforGrownups at y..., "Meggers S." <megalynn44 at h...> wrote:
> Why are the Weasley's poor? OK, the explanation is that Arthur REALLY 
> loves his job and doesn't want to be promoted, but why doesn't Molly 
> get a job? 
> 
> Especially since ALL of her children are gone 9 or 10 months out of 
> the year. What does she do with her time? Also, the Weasley's being 
> poor should be wearing off now.
>
> ....edited...
> 
> Megalynn


bboy_mn wanders in with a few random thoughts:

This is a general response to all who have posted, but the thread has
gotten long and complex, and I don't have enough specific comment to
respond to individuals. So, I will add some general comments on the
subject.

Tricky question, really. 

First, we need to define Rich and Poor which I will assert that we can
not do a very good job of. Why? Well, research has shown that no
matter how much money you make, rich people are people who make
substantially more than you, and poor people are people who make
substantially less. Even people who make a 1,000,000 per year don't
see themselves as rich. Rich people are people who make 5,000,000 or
more per year. Certainly, those 1,000,000/yr people don't see
themselves as poor, but it seem that no matter what people make, it's
people who make MORE that are the rich people.

Then we come to poor. Someone said that even though their family
wasn't rich, they got by just fine. (see above) There is a big
difference between being NOT rich and being poor.

How many of you are raising 4 or 5 or 6 kids on 25,000 per year? Now
that's poor, but it's not starving. Your kids get new shoes, but they
don't get the $100 pair of sport shoes their little hearts are aching
for; they get a $25 on sale pair from K-Mart or Walmart. To both child
and parent, that hurts. I've been in that position, and dispite the
fact that I got new shoes, wearing the 'cheapos' still hurt.

So, the Weasley's are not poor, they are middle to lower working
class. They have plenty of food to eat, a safe comfortable (although
not fancy) home to live in, they have clothes to wear, they go to a
good school, they don't have such a tough life compared to a kid
living on the street, or a kid who has crack heads for parents. 

So, by my assessment, Weasley's are not rich by any means or stretch,
but they are not poor either, they are low income and therefore forced
to make sacrifices. When Molly had to give Ron his dress robes, and
she saw his reaction, I think it hurt her very deeply. Not because Ron
was mad, but because she couldn't give him the quality of clothes that
she knew he desparately wanted and that she deparately wanted to give
him. That's what it means to be low income; denial. Not psychological
denial, but having to deny yourself the things you know you really want.

Now let's forget rich and poor, and talk about wealth. Let's talk
about what it mean to be enrich rather than rich. What does Harry say
the first time he sees the Weasley house and sees Ron's room? He says,
it's the best house he's every been in (not an exact quote but close
enough). It is not a rich house, but it is a very enriched house. It
has value to Harry that is measure far beyond it's value in money.

What is quoteed below, expresses how I view the Weasley's true wealth.
I can't deny that they are poor, but let's ponder how enriched they are.

>From fan fiction:

[Setting: a warm summer night at the burrow. All the Weasley brothers
are home. Harry is there for a visit. Seeing the Weasley brothers
tease and torment each other the way loving brothers do, makes Harry
feel very lonely.]
- - - - - - - - - - - -
Harry paused, feeling trapped, not knowing how to make it all (the
conversation) end. "I know a wizard family that is richer than the
Malfoy's. They have a treasure that makes Malfoy's look like street
beggars. They are the richest family I know. Their name is Weasley,
and the treasure they have is each other. I'd give anything to be that
rich. Take all the money in my vault, here cut off my arm, take
anything you want. I'd give it all away just to have brothers."

Harry sniffed, "You don't know how much I wish I had brothers. I wish I
had brothers like you."

Harry's voice became soft, nearly a whisper, "...I ...I wish ...I wish
you ...were ...my ...brothers."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 

While being, without a doubt, economically on the low end of the
scale; the Weasley's live a very happy and enriched life. A life far
richer that those poor souls who merely have money.

And who says their life isn't getting better? How much better did you
expect it to get? How big a change did you expect to see? I serously
doubt that the Weasley will buy an RV or move into a mansion simply
because their kids are now all in school.


That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

bboy_mn