The director has mentioned that the rich family were also parasites, although you're right, maybe he didn't make their parasitic behavior explicit enough. Although some examples I noticed:
- They got rid of their loyal, long-serving, housekeeper instead of caring that she's sick/supporting her through it.
- They "forced" their helpers to show up on Sunday.
- When the driver (the poor dad) was reluctant to run around as a Native American, the rich dad showed anger and said "You're getting paid extra for this!".
On the topic of work ethic, I didn't really see the rich dad or the mom working hard, the mom doesn't even work! Just like many of us in this forum, the dad probably got lucky to end up in a high-paying position, luck doesn't mean work ethic!
> They got rid of their loyal, long-serving, housekeeper instead of caring that she's sick/supporting her through it.
From their point of view, she hid her very contagious and dangerous sickness from them and knowingly endangered them and their children with tuberculosis just to keep her job. What kind of loyalty is that?
> They "forced" their helpers to show up on Sunday.
I watched the movie in September, so I must admit, I don't remember that part really well, but then you're quote the phrase...
> "You're getting paid extra for this!".
...which means, they're paid overtime - so, while outright forcing someone to come out on a weekend is a bad thing to do, it's not even unpaid overtime (which is so common, unfortunately). And it's certainly not even in the same league as literal murder.
> On the topic of work ethic, I didn't really see the rich dad ... working hard
I think it's obvious he's not in the position where he has to work hard - it's working smart that counts.
> the mom doesn't even work!
That's dad's decision - he earned his money, and he decided (for better or for worse) that he wants to provide for his wife. Many (me included) would not take this decision even if we had the resources, but everyone has the freedom to do whatever with the money they earned.
> Just like many of us in this forum, the dad probably got lucky to end up in a high-paying position, luck doesn't mean work ethic!
I can't judge you personally, but I've seen many other talented software engineers and other tech workers come to the same conclusions after they've been in the bubble too long. They got accustomed to level of intelligence and abstract thinking of their social group and naturally assume that all the other people are basically the same. I don't think that they realize what the "outer world" and people who inhabit it are really like. (I grew up pretty poor in not a particuarly elite neighbourhood of Moscow during a decade-long economic and system crysis, and my opinion of the "proletariat" is based on a very intimate first-hand experience).
> You're probably a believer in the meritocracy
No, not quite - I'm not a believer in any kind of system or a systematic truth about this, not the meritoracy, nor the opposite.
- They got rid of their loyal, long-serving, housekeeper instead of caring that she's sick/supporting her through it.
- They "forced" their helpers to show up on Sunday.
- When the driver (the poor dad) was reluctant to run around as a Native American, the rich dad showed anger and said "You're getting paid extra for this!".
On the topic of work ethic, I didn't really see the rich dad or the mom working hard, the mom doesn't even work! Just like many of us in this forum, the dad probably got lucky to end up in a high-paying position, luck doesn't mean work ethic!
You're probably a believer in the meritocracy https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bTDGdKaMDhQ , and watched the movie with a little confirmation bias.