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Joe Lilli
I think it’s easier to envy something that has more proximity to you, to some extent, and if it’s easier to relate to someone with relatively less wealth, that might inspire more envy
Yes and rational, I should be able to take it from them. This is real class war.
That’s a very good point
Yeah I think when someone’s making like, 150K USD/yr or even 200K/yr it feels less irrational to have that thought of “it should be me” compared to some billionaire ceo who makes that much money in a matter of hours
I think you’re comitting the oldest faulty assumption on the internet: assuming two groups of people are the same.
I think the people who yassify billionaires are not the same as those who yell at people for having money, they just don’t yell at the billionaires because they know they won’t be heard.
Her main point is that yelling at people for simply having money is wasted effort because the merely wealthy are not the real problem. The fact that those criticizing them are not the same people who glorify the ultra-wealthy doesn’t change that. The comparison is meant to highlight how targeting an “easy” scapegoat with criticism ends up harming those who don’t deserve it while letting those who do off the hook. This approach is ineffective, and the perceived inconsistency or unfairness—whether real or not—makes it easier to dismiss reasonable criticism. As a result, the effort isn’t just wasted; it may actually be counterproductive, making the criticism seem unfair and unreasonable by comparison.
You know…this could possibly be the reason why this country has such a bare-bones social safety net? Hmm….
that’s a well-understood historical phenomenon: “The problem with working-class Americans is that they all think of themselves as temporarily-distressed millionaires” is a paraphrase from the 1800’s, I believe. Glorifying those who ‘beat the system’ while disparaging the merely successful.
I think this has everything to with if your audience is left leaning I.e on the lookout for signs of privilege. I would argue those ultra wealthy influencers have an audience that is either apolitical or right leaning therefore glorifying wealth
1. Competition. If they see someone in a similar tax bracket doing well and it’s “the wrong type of person,” there’s a backlash since it’s labor competition. The backlash is even higher if that person does a job they won’t or can’t do. The backlash is even that much higher if it’s a small business owner observing a well-paid laborer.
2. If they see someone with massive wealth, often generational, they see someone “beat the system” and they admire and praise them for not having to work like all those other loser schlubs. They want to be the rich grifters collecting massive passives off the sweat of others.
Basically, 1) “I could do that if I wanted to” vs. 2) “Wow, you are a uniquely brilliant and special star in the sky blessed by God on Earth, teach me your ways!”
I reckon it to Americans’ love of aristocracy and authority and absurd hatred of labor.
You definitely hit the nail on the head with the competition take. I never understood jealousy, especially in cases where the jealous person wouldn’t even try to do what the other person is doing. It makes zero sense.
It’s all about being young and wealthy, not being old and wealthy. That’s what young people desire
Yes, I hate my neighbor for having a nicer car than me.
“When the lord of the land makes his subjects stand in the open rain, their enemy is not the man who wore a hat.”
Yes it’s a tumblr quote but one hundred percent if you’re angered by the inequity of today, don’t look around you. Look up. The lords want us to keep our frustrated energy focused on each other and away from them. People with hats also shouldn’t ignore the plights of others who don’t have the same comforts. We’re all on the ground, in the rain, and hats can easily blow away or removed forcibly by the lord’s decree when viewed as a sign of disrespect. Who just reposted how we should all stfu about egg prices?
No it is. The person with a hat, he is in striking distance.
I think voyeurism plays into it. An heiress or prince or an oligarch showing off on Instagram is seen as akin to entertaining because the novelty, but someone making 100k or even just 50k after tax feels different because it hits a little too close to home.
This resentment is about the way the professional managerial class acts morally superior to working class people while upholding capitalism by doing the bidding of the billionaire class. It’s a rightful sense of betrayal, even if many, possibly even most working class people would do the same thing in a heartbeat if given the opportunity
Hmm spending yeah. I have about $20 per week of funds I can use for clothing and have decided to make my clothing from fabrics I have stashed away… My $20 a week budget is now being spent at a local coffee shop to get my partner and myself coffee and pastries… I figure it is better to support a local coffee shop then to buy fast fashion. I see it as investing in my local economy. I sew and they bake, a win win in my book. I will probably never be rich but I can help others stay employed and in housing… Oh and I will soon have a new wardrobe along with less money going to storage spaces. Once those storage spaces are empty that will be $150+ per month more going into savings.
Appreciate you talking about this, and this way
I think this is a very gendered attack as well. Female-coded consumption, including on makeup and clothing, prompts critics out of every economic status. And when this overlaps with wealth, it is labeled as “Frivilous” well before male-coded consumption is labeled unnecessary.
This drives me insane! A lot of the personal finance space leans heavily on examples that are very gender oriented. Even in cases where a woman has significant assets or high income, female coded consumption is still extremely criticized. It’s almost as if it’s not about the money and completely about the sexism lol
This is an astute observation.
I also wonder how much of that if “self-selecting bias”? Like, the people who are willing to say “yas queen spend that money” are the type to seek out people that spend money in that way, but if your audience isn’t there for the ridiculous spending they are probably self-selecting into a group more willing to ask questions about your wealth, even if it’s lesser than what other “influencers” are doing
Wealth is somewhat relative. For example a person making 30k might think someone else making 100k is rich, whereas they may think someone making 500k is rich, and they might think someone earning 1M is rich, and so on.
I saw a content creator describe herself as middle class and it didn’t look like it. I think Americans aren’t really aware of what rich is
Most “wealthy” people (and I’m speaking from the experience of someone who went to an expensive private school so was around it) live a more upper middle class lifestyle. This is how it is held onto. The instagram thing is ridiculous and should be mocked just because the people who do that whether actually rich or not look like real assholes. Where things get problematic is the fine line between being private about money or privilege and privilege and making people feel inferior when they are in the dark about relative opportunity. Most eat the rich kinda taxes would make a huge difference to middle class families while not even touching most of the comfortably wealthy. The super rich would not experience any actual lifestyle difference so should be on board
Online, I notice that most political arguments are also among people who agree on most things. People do like to take down the people nearest to them.
I think part of it is also audience. Like the suburban influencer proboally doesnt have to much audience overlap from the LA influencer
This is the first I’m seeing of a real nuanced discussion on the topic and I hope there will be more to follow. There is such a warped sense of what qualifies as rich these days. I’ve seen anywhere from anything above what that particular person makes is considered rich (even $1k a year more) to you live in a house or can afford a meal out. Squabbling over one person having 100 more square feet of living space does nothing to actually unify the working class.