A recent New York Times article depicted how hard it is to live in the city of New York with a salary of only a half a million dollars. It was said that, with all the work it takes to stay in that sort of status in New York City, a $500,000 salary is not as much as it sounds like. Living in New York, the article argues, takes its financial toll quite quickly. From pricey nannies to high priced schools to raising rent costs, a half a million dollars isn’t as much as you think it is.

The figure of a half a million dollars is prevalent because of the recent cap set on the salaries of bank executives as part of the bailout plan. The companies will receive money, but the executives’ salaries will take a hit.

However, the banks’ elite claim that their six-figure salaries may simply not be enough to cover the expenses of living in The City That Never Sleeps.

The article cites a number of ways a half million dollars can receive a major dent: $32,000 for a private school, $96,000 for the mortgage and co-op maintenance fee each and $45,000 for a nanny, all annually. The costs, as you can see, simply add up for a bank exec. But, there is one issue.

I can’t even begin to describe how much I don’t care.

If these people’s lives were so bad, they’d lose their high-end fancy Wall Street jobs, take their kids out of the fancy schools and move into an area with affordable housing. That’s too hard, though, because it’s too much for these Wall Street executives to be stuck on the same level as the rest of us miserable people in this world.

These people aren’t being put through any hardship; they’re just experiencing the same crap most of the world has to put up with on a daily basis. Oh, their bonus is only going to be $50,000 this year. I guess Willard III will have to wait another year before he gets his third car. He’ll be driving in two years, you know.

It’s difficult, though, to put yourself in the position of someone who is simply cursed with the fact that their apartments with water fountains that run Hawaiian Punch cost more than most people’s living conditions.

The high life isn’t all it’s perked up to be. Didn’t you know? It may seem like fun to take a bath of $20 bills every time you get a paycheck. But what you didn’t know is that you have to spend most of it on bills and stuff. And after that, they don’t even have enough money to lease a new car every week.

Ok, it may be true that, after high mortgages and fees that there’s not that much money left over. Fine, I can believe that. But to complain that all these costs, which do in fact lead to an elite-class lifestyle, simply make for impossible living is ridiculous.

These people say they have it so bad, but do they even put themselves in the shoes of the guy that parks their $100,000 BMW’s for a living?

The current unemployment rate is 7.6 percent. That means 7.6 percent of America doesn’t have a job to hire a nanny and barely scrape by on the mortgage if they’re not living with their sister in-law. Why do you think we have the Federal School Lunch Program? There are families that can’t even afford to give their children lunch money to go to a public school.

It only takes one look at Wall Street to see what’s going on. These people are either inept and suck at their jobs or are smart enough to steal other people’s money. So, when the government comes around to tell them to get their act together, the back executives either can’t believed that they may have to go down to the level of the peons or know that they have enough pull and can prevent a change by complaining enough.

I have no aspirations of being rich ‘- I’m a journalism major. But you know what I’m going to do? I’m going to go into a terrible job market with a degree in a dying field and get a job and scrap together enough money to make a living. And if I get laid off, the government’s not going to come and bail me out, it’s too busy holding the rich and privileged to its tit because the CEOs of the world didn’t get their third condo.

The government has decided to take taxpayer money to help soothe the boo boo’s of America‘s elite, who don’t know how to live if they’re not buying a ton of crap they don’t need.

So if you’re about to get laid off, don’t worry. There are people who are in a much worse situation.

Nick O’Malley doesn’t care how expensive your apartment is. He can be reached at [email protected].