Brooklyn Heights Man Featured in NY Daily News Story About Anti-Trustifarians

By on July 8, 2014 10:38 pm in War On Fun

While conservatives are voicing their fauxrage over President Obama’s birthday gift of a car to his daughter Malia, the NY Daily News posts a story about how the president and other well-to-do folks are steering their kids into a life of — work!

Featured in the piece, one where we also learn that Sting will NOT be giving his children trust funds, is a man living in Brooklyn Heights:

NYDN: Just ask Christopher Natal, a 23-year-old in Brooklyn Heights. He wasn’t born with a silver spoon in his mouth — he had the whole dinner set. But his parents — one a police chief, one a sheriff — laid down the law when it came to instilling a work ethic.
“My parents gave me everything, but I had to work for it,” says Natal, who got his first job at 17 and used the money to buy a car.
Natal’s parents paid for his education at the Art Institute of Philadelphia, but when he wanted to pursue a fashion career in the Big Apple, he took a 9-to-5 job as a sales associate at Nine West in the Financial District to pay the bills.

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  • Joey Boots

    Yeah and the time his parents paid the high priced rent/or bought him a place in expensive Brooklyn Heights while he pursues his art career. No way a sales clerk at a clothing store can make enough to live in Brooklyn Heights – I resent these Trustafarians when they claim to work so hard like common-folk.

  • David on Middagh

    Don’t you like this guy’s shirt, though? He might be working for measly pay, I don’t know, but that’s some paisley!

    “Working for paisley.” I think I just coined a phrasely..

  • Confused

    I am not trying to pick or be a hater — just confused… His parents were cops and he had a silver spoon (dinner set)? Had they inherited a fortune? I dont understand… A police chief and and a sherrif isnt exactly the makings of a 1% couple.

  • Confused

    Actually — it’s a good question for this BH Blog crowd. What do you think makes a family wealthy or well-to-do? Over 500k per year in income? $250k? A million a year? Or is it total net worth?

  • Brandon

    This sounds like a non-story. Someone gets written up for taking a sales job in NYC in order to pursue a career in fashion? Why is this worthy of a story and why is BHB bothering to reference something that is commonplace in this city? Is it just because this guy lives in Brooklyn Heights? So what! And, please, can we stop with the nonsense 1% vs. 99%, which is merely a politically-created campaign. People take their cues from the media, which takes its clues from politicians. Those saying that this is an issue are parroting the story line of power-hungry politicians.

  • Karl Junkersfeld

    Brandon, are you serious about the concern of income inequality being a media driven event? Personally, I am fiscally conservative but you have to be totally ignorant not to appreciate that this country has a major problem with income distribution. Since you distrust the written word, probably the NYTimes, try watching the attached video which does an excellent job defining the problem. This video (15.5MM viewers) is over a year old and inequality has gotten much worse considering financial assets are exploding upwards in the last year. I’m benefiting but I can still appreciate the unfairness of it all.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QPKKQnijnsM

  • Oy

    Totally agree. And Karl, that is all spin — all these numbers can be massaged to fit an angle. The fact that you can make a fortune in this country should be applauded — not slapped down. The wealthy (and that is a laugh, because what they call ‘wealthy’ in new york city is NOT wealthy) pay for EVERYTHING in this country and it needs to stop. The social services madness is out of control. We need a flat tax. Why on earth after working my butt off since I was 14 have to pay almost 60% (counting Fed, state, city, etc. of my pay to the government? It is absurd.

  • Oy

    And not to mention… there should no be “wealth distribution.” You get some social services when you are in need, but generally, you should EARN money. Yes, we need to help those without. But why would we ever begrudge the 1% for making more? That is what capitalism is all about.

  • Questionall

    Excellent rebuttal, Karl.

    However, even the NY Times can deliberately mislead, like Judith Miller and her nonexistent weapons of mass destruction that helped pave our way into Iraq.

  • Questionall

    Yes, but I don’t think the 1% earn most of it legally, honestly, ethically, etc.? That should matter to you.

  • gc

    For most of the truly wealthy the bulk of their income comes from dividends and capital gains. The tax rate for that income is maximum 20%. In addition, capital gains aren’t taxed until they are taken. Capital gains can continue to grow year after year without any taxes at all.

  • Karl Junkersfeld

    gc, one note about capital gains. I’m not complaining but I had relatively high capital gains distributed from my mutual fund holdings. (Would of been worse if held more active funds) I’m not smart enough to pick individual stocks and generally hold passive funds. ie. Vanguard Index Funds. Secondly, with respect to capitalism, US doesn’t have pure capitalism due to the efforts of lobbyists who impact such things as import/exports, tax treatment, subsidies etc.
    Unfettered capitalism is also problematic because many will be left behind. There is a role for government despite what some may think. Question obviously is how much.

  • SMO

    Agreed. But key issue on taxes is how big business gets zero taxes, breaks and subsidies at expense of ordinary citizen. So, GE has loopholes to pay 0% tax! while you pay 60%.

  • Karl Junkersfeld

    Smo, exactly. Good lobbyist and plenty of contributions to political figures.