Very wonderful writing as usual and a very probing piece about a touchy issue. "How much do you make" is a touchy subject even in family circles. Some folks always got the money but we just aren't allowed to know who.

It's interesting how jobs I've worked have constantly been so touchy about this subject. Wages and salary are as sacrosanct as personal medical information or classified military secrets. In the grocery store chain I used to work at for many years, discussing wages was a big no-no(because some people clearly made quite a bit more than others).