Then why do people buy the expensive mechanical watches? Edward Faber of the Aaron Faber Gallery in Manhattan recently described buyers of these watches as men from 30 to 50 who want “this ‘power tool,’ this instrument on their wrist that distinguishes them from the pack.” The problem is that if a watch is to distinguish its owner, it must sell for more than the watches worn by members of the pack. So when the pack spends more, the price of distinguishing oneself also rises. And in the end, no one gains any more distinction than if all had spent less.

This is an argument that the “rich” whoever they might be, should be taxed more heavily.

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Here is what I think: The obsession of intellectuals and other members of the chattering classes with status envy, conspicuous consumption and income distribution is a reflection of their own insecurities and the tensions of their little world. Most of us out here in flyover country, just don’t get it.

Are Journalists Underpaid?
Pity the sad, broke New York Times reporter. By Daniel Gross, Posted Tuesday, Dec. 20, 2005, at 6:23 AM ET

The New York real-estate boom is claiming a different kind of casualty, according to an article in Sunday’s New York Times. Keying off a new report issued by the Center for an Urban Future, Jennifer Steinhauer noted that, thanks to high housing prices, many of the creative types who work in Manhattan-centered fields like advertising, publishing, and the arts are being priced out of the city. This, presumably, could damage New York in the long run, since it’s an article of faith among nouveau-urban thinkers that the creative classes are a huge economic advantage, as the author Richard Florida has persuasively argued.

It could also damage journalism. The journalists who write these stories about people who can’t afford to live in New York can’t afford to live in New York, either. And that’s a trend that may prove just as corrosive to establishment media as any disruptive technology.

Then why do people buy the expensive mechanical watches? Edward Faber of the Aaron Faber Gallery in Manhattan recently described buyers of these watches as men from 30 to 50 who want “this ‘power tool,’ this instrument on their wrist that distinguishes them from the pack.” The problem is that if a watch is to distinguish its owner, it must sell for more than the watches worn by members of the pack. So when the pack spends more, the price of distinguishing oneself also rises. And in the end, no one gains any more distinction than if all had spent less.

This is an argument that the “rich” whoever they might be, should be taxed more heavily.

===============

Here is what I think: The obsession of intellectuals and other members of the chattering classes with status envy, conspicuous consumption and income distribution is a reflection of their own insecurities and the tensions of their little world. Most of us out here in flyover country, just don’t get it.

Are Journalists Underpaid?
Pity the sad, broke New York Times reporter. By Daniel Gross, Posted Tuesday, Dec. 20, 2005, at 6:23 AM ET

The New York real-estate boom is claiming a different kind of casualty, according to an article in Sunday’s New York Times. Keying off a new report issued by the Center for an Urban Future, Jennifer Steinhauer noted that, thanks to high housing prices, many of the creative types who work in Manhattan-centered fields like advertising, publishing, and the arts are being priced out of the city. This, presumably, could damage New York in the long run, since it’s an article of faith among nouveau-urban thinkers that the creative classes are a huge economic advantage, as the author Richard Florida has persuasively argued.

It could also damage journalism. The journalists who write these stories about people who can’t afford to live in New York can’t afford to live in New York, either. And that’s a trend that may prove just as corrosive to establishment media as any disruptive technology.

Captain America’s shield is made of a one-of-a-kind adamantium-vibranium compound. . . .

This is the best thing I’ve learned from this blog in years.

Captain America’s shield is made of a one-of-a-kind adamantium-vibranium compound. . . .

This is the best thing I’ve learned from this blog in years.

My (perhaps moderate) position is that most semi-affluent people are in an unconscious status competition, and that they could benefit from a little education. There’s no reason that has to come from “the state.” It could come from the blogs, if they weren’t too busy with politics.