Re:America's 1% Has Taken $50T From the Bottom 90%
by biztos on Thursday February 11, 2021 @09:49PM
(#26110239)
I have an iPhone because it is (for my needs) a better machine. I wear Nike running shoes because they fit me well and that gets me a safer workout.
Some things have functional advantages even if they also signal status. The working class has at least as much need for functionality as anyone else. A $400 phone vs a $200 one could easily be more useful to a poorer person than a richer one. Same with $100 vs $25 shoes.
My Seiko tells time as well as a Rolex (though not as well as an even cheaper quartz watch would). But even here, where status is definitely a factor, it’s not like the Rolex has no additional value: it has resale value, and aesthetic value.
Re:America's 1% Has Taken $50T From the Bottom 90%
by zepto on Thursday February 11, 2021 @04:40PM
(#26107678)
> But not everybody can be in the top 1% by definition.
Sure - but what should the wealth ratio between the top 1% and everyone else be? Perhaps if the ratio were lower, everyone would be able to afford great phones.
Also, who ‘deems’ what is essential?
I would argue that yes, in the first world a smartphone is almost required, but there are plenty of great <$200 Android phones that do everything one would deem essential. $1500 smartphones are now simply a status symbol alongside Nike's and Rolex's, and have been for some time.