Wealth Quotes in Middlesex

Henry Ford's factory didn't just revolutionize machinery, it revolutionized humanity by making them a part of the machine. The reason? To maximize profits, to turn people into components of the machine in order to make the most money. Just think of all the mechanical metaphors you've heard about working life, such as being a "cog." How many others can you think of?

This sounds like a nice sentiment, doesn't it? We want you to have a house, a fence, 2.5 children. (What happened to the other half of that child?) But the motives behind this are nefarious—they want their employees to obtain mortgages because they're the landowners, which means they'll profit from the deal. These guys are monetizing the American dream.

Lefty and Jimmy are traditional guys. They think their main (and maybe only) responsibility as fathers is to make the dollah dollah bills. What are they missing out by making this their focus? What is their family missing out on?