Invisibility of the lowest

"Between the 1958 and the 1970 birth cohorts, the biggest decline in social mobility occurred in the professions of journalism and accountancy. For example, journalists and broadcasters born in 1958 typically grew up in families with an income of around 5.5% above that of the average family; but this rose to 42.4% for the generation of journalists and broadcasters born in 1970.

[...] fewer than 10 per cent of new journalists came from a working-class background and only three per cent came from homes headed by semi-skilled or unskilled workers."

Purchase the authenticity of homelessness

"Gwen is the world's first homeless doll, although her role is focused on being a friend to Chrissa, who's bullied at school. But her story emerges: Gwen's dad ditched them, her mom lost her job and their home, and they sleep in their car.

The pop culture fan is well-splattered. Columnists rip Mattel for mocking homelessness by charging $95 for a doll who uses an armrest for a pillow. Homeless advocates murmur that fortunate families that can afford such playthings could get a clue. Others suggest that Mattel marry the thrill of capitalism to the warmth of charity.

The American Girl folks have stated that they are 'disheartened that there has been any confusion over our fictional characters.'

A peek at the American Girl Web site's comments suggests that however well intentioned a life lesson, a doll is always a doll: One young customer was perplexed by Gwen's lack of accessories. 'I expected some outfits.'"

Via http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/living/2009975550_homelessdoll30.html

My passion will not be interrupted by collective misery

Why do Americans travel?

In a recent survey taken by American Express Travel, 87% of respondents indicate taking trips for the pursuit of personal passions will continue or even increase over the next two years despite economic conditions.

One's 'personal passion' should not be hampered by an economic recession. To be concerned with or have the ability to indulge one's 'personal passion' in the form of elective travel while a nation's economy points toward collapse is a mark of wealth.

With wealth, the individual has the power to choose. The act of choosing, albeit in the form of negative freedom, is a hallmark of elite culture. They project this and believe that everyone has an equal freedom to make choices.

So what do wealthy Americans primarily choose as their motive for travel?

42% choose destinations for culinary reasons

Food. Exotic food.

Most people expressed they are also willing to spend more money and stay longer for vacations that further their personal dreams.

Again there is talk of dreams. Personal dreams. Dreaming that is not futile as has the potential to be realized is more probable with money and therefore is the property of our wealthiest citizens.

For the rest of us, we are left with the real.

From: http://www.luxist.com/2008/08/14/personal-passions-fuel-getaway-plans/

The Level Playing Field

The members of the upper classes should feel the same pride in their achievements as Barry Bonds does about his home run record.  

The lower classes should feel that they are Herny Aaron, Roger Maris, and Babe Ruth in contrast.

Don't get too close to my fantasy

A synopsis of the forthcoming television show, Privileged.

Twenty-three year-old Megan Smith has a Yale education, a relentlessly positive attitude and a plan to conquer the world of journalism, despite the fact that she is currently slaving away at a tabloid rag.

Megan's plan is thrown off course when, in one whirlwind day, she gets fired, meets cosmetics mogul Laurel Limoges and becomes the live-in tutor for Laurel's twin teen granddaughters in the heady Palm Beach world of wealth and power.

Acquiring access to wealth in America has to be predicated on a fantasy. In this case, it is a "whirlwind day" - think tornado in the Wizard of Oz. An incredible event that takes the protagonist out of her mundane world (the domain of workers) and inserts her into a world of adventure (the domain of rulers). Even so, she remains a servant.

The girls, Rose and Sage, are beautiful, rebellious and less-than-thrilled with their new tutor, but Megan is determined to win them over as she enjoys the perks of her new job - breathtaking private suite, gorgeous convertible and live-in chef Marco.

Rebelling against what, exactly? The confines of their upper class life? The authority of a someone who is beneath their status being in charge of their education? I doubt it's truly a rebellion. More likely, it is a reaction.

And the chef is not white.

Despite her own complicated romantic and family relationships, Megan is committed to making a difference in the lives of her two headstrong charges as she navigates the treacherous waters of high society in Palm Beach.

It is the duty of the lower classes to educate and change the amoral, sociopathic, narcissistic individualism that is inherent in the wealthy, or so the narrative goes. To believe in the possibility of a spontaneous change in the values of the wealthy - or any class - is probably naive.

From: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Privileged_(TV_series)

It's not an accessory; it's a lifestyle.

Hand-wringing is currently going on at luxury bag manufacturers.

Luxury handbag maker Coach came in with relatively strong numbers for their fiscal fourth quarter but are still feeling gloomy. Although Coach's fourth quarter profit rose 33% the company has predict that the continued consumer cautiousness in the U.S. will reach well into 2009.

Does this type of cautiousness differ in kind or degree when compared to the cautiousness displayed by the American consumer who moves from cheddar cheese to American cheese to nothing?

Coach joins other retailers in predicting reduced spending even among luxury shoppers.

When the superfluous cannot be moved, a principle feature of capitalism is in peril.

Chief Executive Lew Frankfort said in an interview that the company will introduce products with higher material and labor costs at prices lower than they would have charged during more rosy economic times.

Will the laborers who are increasing their workload see any increase in their wages? Or is it piecemeal? Or, more likely, will their increased effort be rewarded with decreasing wages because of the unfortunate "fluctuation" in the market?

From: http://www.luxist.com/2008/07/29/coach-predicts-tough-times-ahead/

Who gives a shit?

From the BBC:

The British business tycoon Richard Branson has unveiled an aircraft in the US that will be used for his project to launch tourists into space.

More than 250 people have already paid $200,000 each to be among the first making the tourist trips.

The reality of millionaires and billionaires being catapulted into space does nothing for me.

A nationalized space program is symbolic of a population's collective will to conquer the improbable, whereas privatized space tourism is an example of the elite's ability to transcend the "mundane" and "common" through flamboyant individuality.

Humanity's dreams and hopes (i.e. outer space) are being populated and appropriated by venture capitalists and day traders.

From: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7529978.stm

Let's try colonialism again

From tourism advice provided by the Wall Street Journal:

It's a China that is long past but glimpsed in three remote and astonishingly well-preserved historic cities.

<begin sarcasm>

The Wall Street Journal is offering tips for upper class travelers to explore the exotic and undisturbed historic savagery of primitive China. How titillating.

The ethnic Naxi people who give Lijiang its character have been largely overwhelmed by Han Chinese hotel developers, tour operators and trinket sellers.

Quick! See the Naxi before they are rendered extinct by development that is in no way encouraged by upper class tourism!

A visitor might not see more than a couple of Western faces, but there are throngs of Chinese tourists descending from the buses parked outside the old city. That's a downside to Pingyao: the sojourn back in time is marred by guides shouting into bullhorns and by tourist shops selling T-shirts and the local peanut brittle.

How dare the Chinese disturb the respectful and demure gaze of the Western tourists who really know how to respect the savages and their earthy ways.

<end sarcasm>

From: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121703383271586729.html?mod=2_1578_topbox

Fetch me a table away from the rabble

The class separations are being created and marketed for the online world.

In the real world, the average Joe watches the Red Sox-Yankees game from the bleachers while the affluent mingle in the corporate boxes. Everyday Eddie deals with parking and public restrooms during his day at the beach, yet the mega-rich drop their keys with the valet and settle into a reserved lounge chair at a private club.

Online, the waters are parting too.

The "average" and "everyday" are the domain of the lower classes. The wealthy exist in the realm of the exceptional and rare.

Though it once seemed that the Web was the last place where status didn't matter, the elite are now looking for a comfortable place to mingle with like-minded people. They're leaving Facebook and LinkedIn to the riffraff.

"Riffraff". The undesirables must be kept at a distance so as to not pollute the pristine waters of the wealthy.

Some networks come with strict invite-only policies and a rigorous application process based on education, job title, connections and lots of virtual velvet rope.

Once invited to join the network (only selected members with a sturdy Rolodex are given invite powers), a member can browse the market guide (a high-end Craigslist where there are currently 500 member-listed yachts for sale), surf the luxury-travel guide and global-event guide, or participate in forum discussions

"People are unhappy with the free-for-all at LinkedIn and Facebook and MySpace. They are looking for a specialized group to mingle with, and paying a fee weeds out the ones who don't belong," says Chris Curtis, director of Web Business Ownership LLC, a Delaware-based Internet consulting company.

The arguably egalitarian nature of the Internet is undesirable for the "mega-rich". It is a chaotic "free-for-all" that does not give the necessary nod to the exceptional nature of the wealthy. To compete and coexist with the commoners is to sacrifice the individuality and exceptionality that is expected when one is wealthy.

From: http://www.forbes.com/2008/05/02/social-networks-vip-tech-personal-cx_nr_0502style.html

Simple movements

From a Q&A with where NY residents ask questions of NY Times Metro Editor, Joe Sexton.

Q. The transformation of Manhattan into an exclusive borough for the "super-rich" — I believe that this important issue is under-covered by The Times. Also, the affordable sections of Manhattan (below 14th Street), and the gentrification that has affected southern Harlem, Brooklyn, Queens and now the Bronx. This is having a devastating impact on the middle and working classes.

I live in Peter Cooper Village/Stuyvesant Town, which was built for the middle class and is now being turned into ersatz luxury apartments. Typical rents have risen from $1,300 to way over $5,000, and when the lease is renewed, a 17 percent increase is added.

A. You are not alone in wondering how people of more modest means manage to stay in Manhattan.

[...] I think we've done some good work trying to capture the full dimensions of the extraordinary remaking of the city that has been under way for years.

[...] We've struggled a bit at getting at what would seem to be some critical issues. If the less well off are being pushed out of the city, for instance, where are they going, and is there a reliable, effective, practical way of actually comprehensively documenting where they've gone? It's trickier than you might think. Or maybe we're just short of good ideas. All suggestions welcome.

We're also currently talking with our reporters about starting a beat we might call "Frontiers'' — a sustained, sophisticated, aggressive look at the intersections of development and preservation, of gentrification (not necessarily a dirty word) and neighborhood identity.

Sexton must remind the reader that gentrification is not a "dirty word". This is correct; it encompasses far too much to be simply negative. However, the issues raised (the quadrupling of rents; conversion of middle class housing to luxury condos for the extremely rich; de facto 17% rent increases during lease renewals) describe a very negative, or perhaps a 'non-positive' change for the lower and middle classes.

Sexton also refers to the lower classes as the "less well off". Indeed, the starving are somewhat deficient in nutrition and cancer patients are perhaps less than healthy.

The immediacy of the middle or lower class family or individual who has been forcibly pushed from their home due to the uncontrollable metaphysics of the market (or so it is claimed) does not experience this change as a polite and necessary shift for the betterment of all; it is devastating and demoralizing.

They are human beings and not the abstract fictions of a ledger sheet.

From: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/21/business/media/21askthetimes.html?pagewanted=all