Yes, You've Convinced Me I Was Wrong

I generally hew to the axiom expressed by Michael in The Good Place that, like having two soul mates, someone on the internet saying "yes, you've convinced me I was wrong" is an exceedingly rare thing, so I don't get into twitter fights with people. Instead, I'm going to lightly complain about the below tweet here, where literally no one is going to read it. Here's the tweet:

Now, let me say that yes, as a general matter, I agree that it is frustrating when your rent goes up by a lot more than a raise you get at work; HOWEVER, I did have a few issues with the tweet. For one, just insane the number of likes and retweets. Is this partly envy? YES. I feel great twitter envy for people with more followers than me and whose content gets liked/retweeted more. There, I said it. I am guilty of the sin of envy. BUT, and because I do follow Sophie and have for some time, admire the work she did during the pandemic to get people to donate MTA cards, she sewed masks, did some canine fostering before she got her own pup, like, a good egg, to be sure, she also lives in the most expensive city in the country and in a part of it (UWS) that is particularly pricey. The idea there is no way to get ahead here is just ... wrong. Like, get a roommate. Look for a job that pays you more money. Move to a different (and less expensive) part of the city. Or, since you work remotely now, out of the city altogether. You moved in with your parents for a year during COVID. Did you save the money or did they charge you the same rent you were paying? If the former, what did you do with it? Take fewer vacations. Don't take on the responsibility of pet ownership (I know, a terrible thing to say, but pets are expensive - I know, I have two!) or post pictures of all the new stuff you bought for your apartment and then cry poor. And what does "get ahead" actually mean? 

I don't mean to be overly critical, but oftentimes people confuse want and need or, when things are pointed out to them that they don't want to hear, just come up with a bunch of excuses as to why what you're suggesting is wrong (which is why I am commenting here and not on twitter). So yes, when the rent goes up more than your salary, it sucks, but that's going to happen .. .a lot, especially if you live in New York.