What are you worth?

I don't want to brag, but the other day I met an American, yes a real one. I shouldn't use his real name so we'll call him Brad. No wait, that's too stereotypical, let's call him Buddy.
Anyway, the reason I mention this is that within three minutes of meeting me Buddy had asked me how much money I earn:
Buddy: "What do you do?"
Me: "I'm a writer/manager of production"
Buddy: "Who do you work for?"
Me: "Various people"
Buddy: "How much do you make?"

I don't think I've ever felt more English. I mean, you don't ask a chap another chap how much a chap makes. The problem was I couldn't think of any reason why I was so reluctant to tell him. All he wanted was a handy way to place me, what was wrong with that. After all wouldn't the world be a better place if we could ask each other whatever we liked without offence:
How much do you earn?
What do you weigh?
Are you loved?
Who will miss you when you die?

Everyone says they hate small talk so why not abolish it and replace it with massive talk?
How much someone you have just met earns is one of the things that the game of polite conversation is designed to help you try and work out. Like 'how much sex are you getting?' and 'are you happy?'

You can't just ask those questions not because it's vulgar, but because it's too easy. You have to form these opinions yourself, you can't cut to the chase, drawing your own conclusions is the chase.

And on the other side we all have the right to present ourselves as we wish to be perceived, and the convention of not asking that particular question allows us to represent ourselves as worth more, or indeed less then the bold fact of what the market will bear! Because the subtext behind the question was:

"Look, I don't have time to make a judgment of my own, give me the bottom line, what has it been decided that you are worth?" And therefore when boiled down, are you any good? And you shouldn't have to answer that just because someone has asked you.