by AnimeFan Bibbi, Menchi Co. Vice President (bibbi)

I'm writing in response to neoneopokemon, whose article was published in the Neopian Times #27. The article remarked how rich people are just trying to get all the NP out of the poor until they can't feed their pet(s). Well, I have another opinion! I have almost 90,000NP in the bank, which I'm earning each day, and spending too.

WHAT THE POOR THINK:

The poor, being people with less than 1000NP, seem to get mad at the rich people because of being unfair. I admit, some rich people do set the prices for their shops and theme parks too high, but not everyone! But that's not what the poor seem to think. I went over to the message boards the other day, and I heard some poor person telling off a rich person for selling faeries for 600NP each, which I thought was very odd, since faeries are at about 700-800NP in market value. Some other poor people joined in, and where not only telling off just this one person, but "everyone with over 10,000NP" for selling codestones, faeries, rare and magic items for a lot of money. And of course, several poor people have written articles about the rich being unfair, and even mocking them.

WHAT THE RICH THINK:

I'm not sure I can say this for all the rich people (I consider "rich" people those with over 250,000NP, or having a Diamond Deposit back account), but most or them think the poor should stop blaming them for their problems. Most of them have earned their money not by complaining (though a few have gotten rich that way, and some by hacking), but by actually doing something with their NP. Some of them bought shops and put items in them for a decent price. Then they made their shops bigger, and added more items and a better selection. Some of them started specialty shops, with only magic, or food, or books and what not. Some of them, instead of trying the marketing business, just played games... a lot, and got very good at them. Some of them even started theme parks, with a small entrance fee (about 10-50NP) and free rides. Then they got more rides, upgrade the park and the rides, and raised the price a bit and did some advertising.

Some of them just got rich by chance. Some won Chia Bingo when there was a big jackpot, or they won a contest at someone's shop. Most rich people know what it's like to be poor, but are ceaselessly being chastised because of being rich. Poor people have rights, which everyone knows well, but rich people have rights, too. But the rich don't want to be a bother my telling others what they are, so the poor continue to throw insults at them, like "I bet if you were poor, you wouldn't last a week!" or "You're always being so selfish, you know, and that's why we all hate you!". But it doesn't stop there. Some rich people have had to make new accounts because a poor person got made at them and make a fake report about the rich person being a hacker and getting them banned. This happened to my friend. She had been playing for about a year, had a great shop, four good pet, tons of extra NP, and was comfortably relaxing when she got a Neomail from someone complaining about her shop. They said they where poor, and that the prices of the items where to high. So she lowered them. But still, the person said they where too high.

WHAT THE MIDDLE CLASS THINKS:

Everyone tries to ignore the middle class, but we're here! No one seems to think the middle class is needed, but without the middle class, it would be impossible to get from poor to rich. The poor would focus more than ever on chastising the rich, and the rich would become poor from lack of profit in their shop/theme park. The poor wouldn't be able to afford anything, and would refuse to buy from the rich. But then the rich would stop making any profit whatsoever, and then we would only have one class or people: the poor. No one would be able to afford anything, people would start getting desperate, and put their pets in the pound. Prices would be at an all-time high, because people want to make the most money they can. The stock market would be useless, and no one would be able to find an item for quests. The Battledome (when it gets here) would be ignored, and people would start focusing on NP. So you see, in the picture I just made: The middle class would be a missing link.

The middle class are the ex-poor and the future rich. We're the up-and-coming class. But people just ignore us. Why? Don't ask me, ask them. I consider myself middles class, though some might think I'm rich. Yes, I has codestones, but I found them. Yes, I have faeries, which I bought with my own money. I have extra food, and books toys, and spells. I'm not complaining. Just give us a little more attention.

In the end, we all started out poor, with only about 600NP. Some of us rocketed to the top right away and became the rich. Some of us did our part, tried to make a living and came up in the middle, happy with our place in Neopia. Some of us struggled, but never could make anything, and they became the poor. However, we need all three classes to make the system work, just as in real life. Who knows, maybe one of the poor people will one day wake up middle class, then make their way up to being rich. That's exactly what I'm doing. And believe me, it works.