Loading...
Browsing Tag

BBC

The New Ways Wealthy Parents Show They’re Better Than You

elite

A new report suggests that the wealthy are showing off their affluence in inconspicuous ways including by breastfeeding, sending their children to private schools and sending them off with organic foods packed neatly in their fancy lunchboxes.

According to an article in BBC.com, the elite class is “eschewing an overt materialism” and instead is  “investing significantly more in education, retirement and health – all of which are immaterial, yet cost many times more than any handbag a middle-income consumer might buy.”

Interesting, no?

Author Elizabeth Currid-Halkett points out that the top 1% of income earners have increased their spending on education 3.5 times since 1996 while  middle-income spending on education has remained flat over the same time period.

Another interesting factoid Currid-Halkett suggests that the affluent signal their wealth is through the way they feed their newborns.

“While time in Los Angeles, San Francisco and New York City might make one think that every American mother breastfeeds her child for a year, national statistics report that only 27% of mothers fulfill this American Academy of Pediatrics goal (in Alabama, that figure hovers at 11%),” she writes.

Beyond child-rearing, it’s suggested that the wealthy also set themselves apart from middle class by knowing what small talk to engage in at the local farmer’s market, heck, by shopping at a farmer’s market in the first placy, and knowing which New Yorker articles to reference.

We’re not sure this is necessarily new as I’ve noted in my Amazon.com book, “How to Look Like Old Money”, you can always tell who is cultured by their ability to engage in intellectual conversations and be versed in a variety of politics to pop culture topics. But I suppose Currid-Halkett is suggesting that which particular “New Yorker articles to reference” matters even more.

But all of this subtle hints are not for nothing.

These examples reveal to the world that one possesses a certain level of  cultural capital, which in turn gives up access into social networks that, in turn, help to pave the way to elite jobs, key social and professional contacts, and private schools.

In short, inconspicuous consumption confers social mobility.

“More profoundly, investment in education, healthcare and retirement has a notable impact on consumers’ quality of life, and also on the future life chances of the next generation,” the piece continues. “Today’s inconspicuous consumption is a far more pernicious form of status spending than the conspicuous consumption of [economist Thorstein ] Veblen’s time.”

To me, this reads like sounds like social climbing just got harder.  So if you’re part of that upward mobility set who look to the aspirational class for cues, better take note and adjust!

Good luck!

Batman138 Bro138 Dolar138 Gas138 Gudang138 Hoki99 Ligaciputra Panen77 Zeus138 Kilat77 Planet88 Gaspol168 Sikat88 Rupiah138 Garuda138 Gacor77 Roma77 Sensa138 Panen138 Slot138 Gaco88 Elanggame Candy99 Cair77 Max7 Best188 Space77 Sky77 Luxury777 Maxwin138 Bosswin168 Cocol88 Slot5000 Babe138 Luxury138 Jet77 Bonanza138 Bos88 Aquaslot Taktik88 Lord88 Indobet Slot69 Paus138 Tiktok88 Panengg Bingo4d Stars77 77dragon Warung168 Receh88 Online138 Tambang88 Asia77 Klik4d Bdslot88 Gajah138 Bigwin138 Markas138 Yuk69 Emas168 Key4d Harta138  Gopek178 Imbaslot Imbajp Deluna4d Luxury333 Pentaslot Luxury111 Cair77 Gboslot Pandora188 Olxtoto Slotvip Eslot Kuy138 Imbagacor Bimabet