[ktownsend]

To me, it sounded more like a call for a bit of empathy and thinking about the foundation upon which the modern economy is built than "a lot of banana republic heaven legislation". Something sorely needed, in my own experience (looking in the mirror at me here!).

I've been lucky, through no real merit of my own, to have ended up in a position where what interests me happens to be somewhat in demand, and financially valuable. I ended up in my field out of personal interest and curiousity, and the unexpected opportunities came on their own. True, those opportunities came through learning and effort, but the fact that I was able to invest the non-trivial time (2-3 years) involved learning those skills is, in itself, exceptional today. It's important to understand the context in which my own present success was possible, and that not everyone begins from the same starting line, and some people will never escape that arbitrary setback.

I'm not sure how a bit of empathy and looking outside our own narrow privileged silo is banana republic legislation, but calls for an honest assessment of the cost of things seemed refreshingly honest to me, and the article clearly communicated her point of view.