That's an enormous misinterpretation of what the author is saying. He's just juxtaposing the extreme wealth in the city with the poverty and drawing from his pe

That's an enormous misinterpretation of what the author is saying. He's just juxtaposing the extreme wealth in the city with the poverty and drawing from his personal experiences to represent the wealth. He explicitly says "The man pushing his house could have used that $250. We ate and drank it."