Sure, I've been both in different circumstances.
I've taken big stances.
Thinking that rich people were evil, or that they misunderstood some aspect of life.
Thinking that poor people could get the same things that rich people could get. Just different versions of those things.
I lived at a house for a couple of years that had no water and no air conditioning.
We made it a point to go to the bathroom at our job. Then, we would brush our teeth with bottles of water in the morning. We took showers at the local gym.
I never thought anything about it at the time. My shirts had white stains in the armpits. I had to buy new shirts quite often. Those stains were from the salt that came from sweat.
I also had periods in my life when I was doing well. Making lots of money.
Those periods are long gone.
I look at things and I see the differences between how it used to be and how it is now.
In 2008, you could buy a large Jumbo Jack for one dollar. You could get fries for a dollar, and you could get Coke for a dollar.
So, you could pay $3 and change and have a pretty nice meal.
On the other hand, you could pay for a fancy version of the Jumbo Jack with fries and a drink and end up spending $10 or more.
It was the same thing wherever you went.
Nowadays though, the poor option has vanished.
Not only that, the Jumbo Jack and the Whopper and every other fast food burger has gotten a lot smaller.
I don't actually eat fast food. I do buy a lot of meat though.
A bag of chicken was $5.82 in 2020.
That same bag of chicken is $15.73 right now.
It amazes me that no one seems to be complaining about this.
I don't know anyone that's making more money.
Everything has gone up in price so much that it feels like you're either rich, or you're more than rich.
The cheap options are gone wherever you go.
I guess it's just the nature of the universe, but it really does strike me as odd.
Maybe I never really understood anything about money.