A couple weeks ago I cam across a story in Harvard Business Review (http://blogs.hbr.org/fox/2010/09/tax-plight-of-250000-crowd.html) that described a group called the HENRYs. These folks, so-called because they are "High-Earning, Not Rich Yet," make between $250k and $500k per year and are subject to the highest proposed levels of taxation if the Bush tax cuts are repealed, according to this only slightly ironic piece from HBR. This group represents a very small percentage of the American population - probably less than 0.5% - so let's not forget a much more important group: the NENRYs.
The NENRYs are just what you may think - Not Earning, Not Rich Yet. We are society's wastrels and vagabonds, roaming from port to port, bed to bed, bar to bar in search of pleasing experiences. We bring an air of regality to sleeping in and are the sole proprietors of the daytime, when HENRYs BMW's are scooting them about, making deals. We are today's Lost Generation sans art: too smart to work menial jobs, too dumb to figure out how else to make it. We live in a wasteland that is light on responsibilities and heavy on perquisites. We show up to your party empty-handed and you thank us for coming, then we leave with your sister (she was lovely). So next time you see a NENRY, remember that he is an important member of society. And buy him a cocktail, for one day he will be a HENRY and he will be obligated to do the same.
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