Jul 06, 2011 Wall Street, or “Free for those who can afford it. Expensive for those who can’t.”
The last time I watched this movie and heard that line, I was in college and stoned. Watched it sober recently, then started reading my subscriptions for the week. What timing.
Frank Rich debuts on New York Magazine this week by excoriating President Obama for refusing to punish Wall Street. His takeaway is that wealth is free for those who can afford it (Wall Street) and expensive for those who can’t (everyone else). If ever a Catch-22…
Except that in Withnail and I, as well as with Wall Street, the person supposedly “able to afford” the wealth is lying. They’re broke, or backed by junk mortgages, and pretending to be rich in order to get more free money. So the adage is more accurately:
Free for those who lie. Expensive for those who don’t.