New CBS reality show exploits poor families by making them grovel for $101,000

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It’s hard to imagine a network #executive didn’t get the idea for this show from the “Button, Button” episode of #The_Twilight_Zone. #The_Briefcase focuses on two #middleClass families—a questionable but highly #American take on the phrase, since both are #debt saddled, with one primary #breadwinner, and essentially living on the edge of #financial ruin. Both are told they’ll be participating in a #documentary about #money. Instead, a producer from the show unexpectedly comes to their house with a #suitcase full of cold, hard cash: $101,000 to be exact. That could be a #life-changing – and in the case of families so near the financial cliff, nearly #life-saving – sum of money. But this being #realityTV, instead of just #giving them the cash, there’s a major catch.

 

Both #families are informed that somewhere out there, there’s another #family “who’s also in need,” and are given a #choice: “You can keep all of the #money, you can keep some of the #money, or you can give it all away.” Neither family knows that the other family also has a suitcase full of #cash and is #debating how much, if any, they’ll #share. And since both families were originally told they were merely going to be the subjects of a documentary, neither of them really signed up for this exercise in televised #torture.

 

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