Because a 90th percentile income is insufficient to completely avoid poor people.
intercst
6 Likes
I think this is wrong. True Luxury is avoiding all people!
JimA
13 Likes
Really, now? Except for a certain “type” I will not mention at this time, this is one of those “everybody does it” things. As soon as anybody notices they’ve gotten ahead in life, or heck even just wins a lottery, what’s one of the first things they start thinking of? Getting a better crib. Maybe nicer, maybe just bigger (kids, get a dog, let mother-in-law move in, Jr gets to go to that slightly nicer school). Nothing malignant or malign about this. In fact you see it much much more among yes, those poor people than you see it among the already rich and well-off’ers. Why would Ralph Kramden want to stay in that 2 room apartment after getting promoted? Why would George Jefferson want to stay in the 'hood when he can live in whatever that place was he moved on up to? If I had real money it’s what I’d have done.
4 Likes
The disappointment is that when George took out the big mortgage to buy that “Apartment in the Sky”, he is still tripping over homeless people when he walks out of the lobby.
My favorite example of this is the folks who bought oceanfront condos in Los Angeles only to see a gauntlet of homeless tents between them and the beach – sometimes within arm’s reach of their deck.
intercst
1 Like
Just how long are your arms?
JimA
intercst
1 Like
I think it’s even a little more basic than that. Many (probably most) people in the top 10% of national household are very far removed from the top 10% of income in their environment. If you’re earning about $200K, you’re in the top 10% of the country. But if you’re earning $200K in California or Massachusetts, you’re actually pretty far from the top 10% - in those states, the cut-off for the top 10% is about $360-370K, nearly double your income. And since most of the high earners live in the places where most of the high earners live, a very large number (again, probably most) people who are just over that 10% national level are probably well outside the top 10% in their community. So of course they don’t feel rich, any more than a household earning the median income in the U.S. (around $84K) feels rich because they’re near the global top 10%.
9 Likes