Poor Weiner - how money changes our perspective

So Weiner has resigned.

What's interesting about this story now, and which is not well known, is that apparently Weiner doesn't have a lot of money. 

From Business Insider:

As The NY Post reported “Weiner doesn't have a business or even a law degree to fall back on. He made $156,117 in 2010, and owes between $10,000 and $15,000 on his American Express card according to his most recent financial-disclosure forms.” Anthony Weiner, the man, has never had another job since starting in politics at the age of 21 in 1985. The future career possibilities for the 46 year old “object” Anthony Weiner aren’t too bright these days.

From CNN money:

Weiner owns a portfolio of 19 stocks worth between $190,000 and $285,000, according to 2010 disclosure forms.

From The Hill:

Under federal pension rules, Weiner could begin drawing down reduced benefits 10 years from now, when he turns 56. Under that scenario, he could collect up to $32,357 annually, totaling $1.12 million over his lifetime, NTU estimates.

If he opts to take the full pension — which kicks in at age 62 — he could receive $46,224 each year, totaling $1.28 million over his lifetime, NTU found. 

 

This tends to explain why he wouldn't resign, he needs his job!  He still has 10 years until his pension of 33k a year kicks in, and his portfolio is hardly enough to retire on (especially with the markets not returning anything at the moment, who knows if they ever will again).

While this doesn't excuse his actions or the lies he told, I think this definitely changes how I see Weiner. His finances definitely suggest he was not a corrupt politician (if he were he'd have found ways to accumulate more wealth than what he has - although who knows, maybe he has a secret bank account in the Cayman Islands). 

And while his behavior over Twitter was messed up, I can sort of see how he might develop the dysfunctional behavior. It has to mess your mind up being around the most powerful, rich people in the world, being perceived as part of that crowd by the media and others and yet in your personal life you aren't wealthy or powerful at all.  Heck, a 46-year-old doctor down the street would probably have 20 times the wealth Weiner had accumulated.

It's not a giant leap to see how he might seek to leverage the only thing he really had, his notoriety, to feel like he was rich and powerful (sort of like a rock star with groupies if you will). In some way he may have been seeking out adulation to compensate for personal feelings of inadequacies that arise from constantly being around others who were far more powerful and rich than him. 

Ron Paul had a similar take on the issue:

Either way, in light of the financial details, this may turn out to be the best thing for Weiner. Given his name I'm sure he can make a lot more money in the private sector (he can do what Eliot Spitzer did and become a news commentator or something).

While the financial details don't seem to really be making headlines, I think a lot of people might cut the guy a lot more slack if they knew he was just another working stiff. Without those details all the public saw was a guy who hung out with the Clintons, wore nice suits, knew the president and appeared rich and powerful. Given the recession we are in it's not surprising to see the public embrace the fall of one of the 'elite'.

So it's too bad that in his press conference Weiner didn't state that he would not resign because he can't afford to. Given his general financial details were publicly available, he could have used that to really flip this story on its head.

Most Americans could easily understand lying to keep your job when you financially need the job. While it doesn't excuse anything he's done, it would have shifted how the public viewed him. Instead of being the 'powerful corrupt perverted politician' he would have been 'the little guy who messed up.'

Oh well, to no surprise, that PR opportunity was missed as well.