Survival of the Richest 2: The American Dream

Continuing on the TV theme:

That king of networks, the WB, ran a reality show that ended recently called "Survival of the Richest". I believe it was on during the week, but I'd catch it every once and a while when WB re-ran it on Sunday afternoons. I don't have cable, and with the 4 Spanish-language channels, there aren't too many options when my eyes are too tired to read but I want to lay on the couch.

This show's premise is "what happens when you get a bunch of rich kids, and a bunch of poor kids, and just get real" or something to that effect. The "rich kids" were all young adults who inherited their wealth. Whenever we got a testimonial from one of the "rich kids", we would see at the bottom of the screen: "Ethan, heir to tanning salon chain, net worth: $23 million". On the other side of the coin, the "poor kids" were simply described as being in debt. So, we'd see: "Sue, $45,000 debt".

The producers of this fine program pushed two main ideas: The "rich kids" are too isolated, and so they must learn how middle and lower income families live. The "poor kids" should be pitied for being in debt, and...not learn anything because they know about "real life".

The show's bright spot was one of the wealthy men seeming to be touched by his exposure to poverty, and pledging to try to help in some way. But, from what I saw, none of the "poor kids", were challenged on why they got into thousands of dollars of debt. Those who had student loans didn't realize that they should have gone to community college, and then chosen a major that would lead to a real job, instead of spending 4.5 years on a psychology degree. The gay unemployed receptionist didn't understand that he should get a new profession and possibly a lifestyle that didn't demand you pay cover every night. The single mother never admitted she should have kept her pants on.

If I could produce the next season of "Survival of the Richest", I'd get successful enterpeneurs and truly destitute people together. Instead of gawking at pampered girls cleaning toilets for the first time, we'd all learn the virtues of creating wealth that benefits everyone in society.