Unlikely Allies in an Unequal America

When Richard met Lauren, he offered preppy ties for her son. What followed was a rare and honest look at class, privilege, and human connection.

This is Part 1 of the true story of Richard, a man with generational wealth, and Lauren, a single mom struggling to keep her household afloat. The twist is they both have Ivy League educations but life has turned out very different for each of them.

Richard first became aware of Lauren’s story when he volunteered to help her son, who earned a scholarship to a fancy prep school but didn’t have the right clothes. Richard knew this was a story worth telling so he reached out to me and I am happy to tell it.

It is, indeed, a story worth telling. Look for a new installment every Saturday here on Untrickled. Sign up for a subscription and it will show up in your email:

The poor know all about inequality: They live it. The rich mostly ignore it or explain it away.

It is not unusual for the poor to want to talk about income inequality. When they compare people born to wealth and a life free from financial worry – in contrast to their own never-ending labor that’s seldom enough to lift them out of poverty – they see great injustice.

It’s a lot more unusual for a rich person to want to talk about this subject.

Nevertheless, not long ago I opened my email to find a message from Richard, who wanted me to write about his professional and personal mentoring of a struggling single mother, Lauren.

After reading my work on my Substack, Untrickled, my novel, The Trailer Park Rules, and my nonfiction book, Strapped: Fighting for the soul of the American working class, Richard felt I was the right person to tell this story. I’ve changed the names and certain identifying details, but everything else is true.

Over the next few months, I’ll be writing the story of Richard, Lauren, their families and their finances.

Privilege and Poverty is a rare opportunity to look into the personal lives and interactions of one rich family and one poor one. What both of our main characters have in common is an Ivy League education, talent, and an appreciation for hard work. Beyond that, their stories could hardly be more different. Richard has always enjoyed a life of plenty. Lauren’s family depends on Medicaid and SNAP to make ends meet.

In this story, Richard doesn’t shy away from sharing just how much more money he has than Lauren (or me for that matter, and almost every single one of you reading this).

It isn’t that he hasn’t had a high-powered career at which he still works hard; it’s that he recognizes the good fortune that placed him there. In this regard, he’s very nearly unique. In my experience, most wealthy people like to justify why they deserve their wealth, even those who have inherited most or all of it.

Here are Richard’s words:

It all started with an eighth-grade graduation photo posted to social media. It was of her son, Peter, in his bright red polyester cap and gown, and was accompanied by a request for guidance on the best way to outfit him for the next stage of his education.

Peter had just won a full academic scholarship to a fancy private school. He had scored so well among the many candidates for admission that the school had extended him, in Lauren’s words, “the opportunity of a lifetime.” While Lauren worried about the financial strain of paying for her growing son’s new wardrobe, not to mention unanticipated fees that would place a strain on her severely limited budget, she did not mention any of this to the online group.

No college education comes with guarantees

It’s widely believed that an Ivy League education provides an entrée into the land of wealth and privilege. But that’s not always the case, and it hasn’t been for Lauren. Despite graduating from one of the country’s most prestigious universities, her professional and personal life have been challenging.

Back to her social media post: Richard read Lauren’s request for wardrobe advice. As a 60-something semi-retired man with a consulting business and an Ivy League education of his own, he knew exactly how a teenager should dress to fit in at prep school. After all, both he and his children were products of such elite institutions.

He was just one of a few dozen commenters who gave Lauren similar advice: Peter needs a blue blazer, some gray and khaki pants, and some machine-washable button-down shirts. Don’t forget to take a look at previously owned ties and belts. Even the blue blazer could be used as long as it was in reasonable repair.

As a woman with pride, Lauren had not asked for any donations of any sort. But Richard then messaged Lauren, letting her know that he had some older items that Peter might find useful, such as preppy ties and adjustable belts that would add a little flare to his high school wardrobe. And what Peter didn’t already own, Richard was happy to buy for him.

Soon, Richard — a man who can buy tailored suits without looking at the price tag — was deep in eBay listings for used ties and teen-sized belts.

Lauren was surprised that Richard would offer to donate, rather than sell, such items. After thanking him profusely, she offered to pay for shipping. He said he was happy to pay for the shipping as well. Since third-party merchants on sites like eBay and Poshmark ship anywhere, it was just easier for Richard to have a couple of preppy ties and belts sent directly to Peter and Lauren.

Lauren thanked Richard for what he had done, and assumed that was that.

Richard, however, had other plans. As a veteran shopper, he continued to prowl for opportunities that would help Peter dress in a way that would help him fit in. At this point, Richard did not know much about Lauren’s financial situation.

At the end of their first phone conversation, Lauren — grateful for Richard’s donations to Peter‘s wardrobe — offered to help Richard with his consulting business, which she had looked up online. With her education, Lauren was qualified to help with any writing and editing Richard might need.

Richard was touched by Lauren’s generous offer, and began thinking about how he might benefit from her help. And, as one of his biggest clients became increasingly demanding, he decided to hire her on a trial basis. However, he refused her offer of working for free, and insisted on paying her what he thought she was worth — $120 per hour.

“My first thought was that he had made a typo and had intended to offer $20 per hour, not $120,” Lauren said.

“I was honestly stunned when he later reiterated it would be $120. Up until that point, I had been supplementing my meager income from a part-time business with anything that would help pay the bills, including food delivery on GrubHub and Instacart. With Instacart, I had been averaging maybe $18-$20 an hour before subtracting gas and wear and tear on my car, so this was many orders of magnitude greater than that. I do think I was a little skeptical. I called my mom and told her, and wondered whether it could be some form of catfishing — although I did wonder who would catfish a broke mom who could barely buy her son some button-down shirts!”

But this is not a story about a benevolent rich man saving a poor woman.

It’s the story of a proud and talented but low-income mother doing everything she can to ensure her children’s success, and a privileged father and new grandfather (whose own children and grandchildren would continue to live privileged lives) realizing he could help break a family’s cycle of poverty while growing his own business.

Next week: The Country Club Lunch

About Michelle Teheux

I’m a writer in central Illinois. If you like my work, subscribe to me here and on Medium. I also have a new Substack aimed at authors who want to self-publish books, called The Indie Author. My most recent book is Strapped: Fighting for the soul of the American working class. My most recent novel is The Trailer Park Rules. If you prefer to give a one-time tip, I accept Ko-fi.

All wealthy families are alike; each poor family is poor in its own way.
— Leo Tolstoy, if he had written about a trailer park

For residents of the Loire Mobile Home Park, surviving means understanding which rules to follow and which to break. Each has landed in the trailer park for wildly different reasons.

Jonesy is a failed journalist with one dream left. Angel is the kind of irresponsible single mother society just shakes its head about, and her daughter Maya is the kid everybody overlooks. Jimmy and Janiece Jackson wanted to be the first in their families to achieve the American dream, but all the positive attitude in the world can’t solve their predicament. Darren is a disabled man trying to enjoy his life despite a dark past. Kaitlin is a former stripper with a sugar daddy, while Shirley is an older lady who has come down in the world and lives in denial. Nancy runs the park like a tyrant but finds out when a larger corporation takes over that she’s not different from the residents.

When the new owners jack up the lot rent, the lives of everyone in the park shift dramatically and in some cases tragically.

Welcome to the Loire Mobile Home Park! Please observe all rules.

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