Generation Wealth

[omni550]

Lauren Greenfield has spent years photographing the world’s richest people. Now she’s made a documentary on society’s obsession with extreme wealth – and its cost to us all.

She says that while examining her photos it became clear to her that “We have left behind the American dream of my dad’s generation where there was the possibility of social mobility and the belief that anyone could make it. The things that were valued then – discipline, hard work and frugality – are not so important now. We have a culture that prizes celebrity, bling and narcissism.”

https://www.theguardian.com/global/...-how-the-modern-world-fell-in-love-with-money

omni

 

[B0bL0blaw]

Sounds like it's the photographer's own obsession with extreme wealth, not society's-at-large, and certainly not my own. I've never heard of any of these people, and I don't care to learn any more than I did skimming that article.

 

[Amethyst]

"What can you do, the XYZ Group controls everything" = standard excuse for not trying harder.

 

[ERD50]

Sounds like it's the photographer's own obsession with extreme wealth, not society's-at-large, and certainly not my own. I've never heard of any of these people, and I don't care to learn any more than I did skimming that article.

Yep, I didn't even skim the article. From the quote OP provided, it appears to me that the author interviewed an extremely narrow segment of society, and came up with a very narrow view of the world. And then generalized it.

Bla.

Maybe that was OP's point? She didn't share her views on it.

edit/add: OK, I went back and did a quick skim. I don't care about these people, and I don't care about the people who do care about these people. I will live my life, and the people in my life are what is important to me. And any article that is quoting people that say greed started in the 1980's has no sense of history/reality,

-ERD50

 

[Koogie]

Published in The Guardian.

If you look up that paper in the media bias chart someone else posted you can tell the kinds of articles you're going to get without even having to waste your time.

 

[marko]

Yep, I didn't even skim the article. From the quote OP provided, it appears to me that the author interviewed an extremely narrow segment of society, and came up with a very narrow view of the world. And then generalized it.

I skimmed the article. The author seems to have focused in on what we call "new money": show offs and conspicuous consumption; kids waving $100 bills around etc. The nonsense you see on reality TV now and what the masses believe how rich people live.

Like one hit wonders, this money arrived quickly and is gone quickly.

Around my neck of the woods they say "The older and bigger the money, the quieter it is".

Nothing wrong with your private jet but if you need to post it on Facebook there's something cringe-able about that. In the old days, that'd get you un-invited to the best parties.

 

[happy2bretired]

History revisited and maybe replayed? Anyone remember the French Revolution? Cake anyone?

 

[Bigdawg]

I skimmed the article. The author seems to have focused in on what we call "new money": show offs and conspicuous consumption; kids waving $100 bills around etc. The nonsense you see on reality TV now and what the masses believe how rich people live.

Like one hit wonders, this money arrived quickly and is gone quickly.

Around my neck of the woods they say "The older and bigger the money, the quieter it is".

Nothing wrong with your private jet but if you need to post it on Facebook there's something cringe-able about that. In the old days, that'd get you un-invited to the best parties.

Totally agree. I am more interested in the millionaire next door folks. What would a picture of that look like? Here is Bob with his 15 year old Chevy pickup. Here is Steve and Debbie residing their own garage.

 

[Scuba]

Published in The Guardian.



If you look up that paper in the media bias chart someone else posted you can tell the kinds of articles you're going to get without even having to waste your time.

+1

 

[ERD50]

History revisited and maybe replayed? Anyone remember the French Revolution? Cake anyone?

No, I'm not that old!

From wiki:

The French Revolution ... lasted from 1789 until 1799.

The causes of the French Revolution are complex and are still debated among historians.

.....

As with most monarchies, the upper class was always insured a stable living, so while the rich remained very wealthy, the majority of the French population was starving. Many were so destitute that they couldn't even feed their families and resorted to theft or prostitution to stay alive.

No, the majority of the US population is not starving, if anything, obesity is likely a bigger problem.

-ERD50

 

[Mr._Graybeard]

History revisited and maybe replayed? Anyone remember the French Revolution? Cake anyone?

A few years abo we vacationed in St. Augustine and visited the Flagler Museum, which has a nice collection of conspicuous-consumption artifacts from the 19th century -- stuff like massive silver sets, jewelry and pieces of furniture that probably took weeks to carve by hand.

St. Augustine was the Palm Beach of the 19th century, and it's reflective in the old hotel buildings that Flagler built for the wealthy of his day. One of them is the central building for the private Flagler College, which uses the old hotel dining room as a student dining hall. You can tour it -- the dining hall and the rest of the building comprise quite a eyeful.

The turn of history after what Mark Twain pejoratively called "The Gilded Age" is a matter of record -- no French Revolution, but a definite shift to the left.

 

[W2R]

"What can you do, the XYZ Group controls everything" = standard excuse for not trying harder.

+1

I hear this all the time and usually it is a pretty lame excuse.

 

[Bestwifeever]

So she went from photographing the Mayans in Mexico to capturing the excesses of rich people who wanted their wealth documented for voyeurs. Idiot.

 

[RobbieB]

I have no problem with the article, that stuff is all real. I especially loved;

"Mommy why are all these people on our plane?"

 

[MichaelB]

So she went from photographing the Mayans in Mexico to capturing the excesses of rich people who wanted their wealth documented for voyeurs. Idiot.

Well, it's probably a sign the wealthy pay better.

What I find interesting is that she can publish all these photos, when the subjects are usually people who control they way their images are used. Having them portrayed in a documentary will not make them very happy.

 

[RunningBum]

Yep, I didn't even skim the article. From the quote OP provided, it appears to me that the author interviewed an extremely narrow segment of society, and came up with a very narrow view of the world. And then generalized it.

You mean like this gem?"

She says it’s not just an issue that effects [sic] the wealthy, but everyone in society. “We’re all complicit in generation wealth.”

Oh really?

 

[ExFlyBoy5]

Totally agree. I am more interested in the millionaire next door folks. What would a picture of that look like? Here is Bob with his 15 year old Chevy pickup. Here is Steve and Debbie residing their own garage.

Well, here is the late Thomas Stanley's house (author of Millionaire Next Door).

 

[happy2bretired]

No, I'm not that old!

From wiki:



No, the majority of the US population is not starving, if anything, obesity is likely a bigger problem.

-ERD50

They may be starving of good nutrition and purchasing cheap processed foods.

I like this from the article:

He says the “$1bn question” is how society will react to the concentration of so much money in the hands of so few. Anger at so-called robber baron families who built up vast fortunes from monopolies in US rail, oil, steel and banking in the late 19th century, an era of rapid industrialisation and growing inequality in America that became known as the Gilded Age, led to President Roosevelt breaking up companies and trusts and increasing taxes on the wealthy in the early 1900s. “Will there be similarities in the way society reacts to this gilded age?” Stadler asked.

Now I know there are many well off people on this forum and I’m happy for you. But I think this article is more concerned with the billionaires class and our new industrial/space age? era that we appear to be entering in this century. Not just in this country either...world wide.

Just something to think about.

 

[Maenad]

I saw some of the photos from before the documentary, and I think she has a point, in that the worship of greed, narcissism, and showy "wealth" is really bad. I mean, Kim Kardashian was robbed at gunpoint because she's part of a family who's famous just for being famous and filled her social media accounts with images of bling. We in our group (FIREees) may not see this because you don't retire early without being relatively frugal, but it's disingenuous to pretend it isn't out there just because it's not how we live.

The photographer's weak point, however, is in thinking that this is new. The explosion of media in the latter 20th and early 21st centuries has enabled it, since we can see extreme displays of consumption much more easily than in the past, but the nouveau riche have always been considered tacky in their extreme spending.

I also think the values of thrift and frugality aren't quite as noble as we like to think. Who's selling these values? Is it your employer who doesn't want to give you a COL increase in your salary this year while giving the executives huge bonuses? Easy for them to say. When things get too out of balance, the peasants revolt. We'd be foolish to ignore this part of history.

 

[athena53]

What I find interesting is that she can publish all these photos, when the subjects are usually people who control they way their images are used. Having them portrayed in a documentary will not make them very happy.

A lot of the photos didn't show faces!


I got bored partway through it. I just don't aspire to live that way.

 

[happy2bretired]

I like this article because there are many facets of wealth and todays society being exposed. I’m glad I read the entire article...many people don’t read entire articles and miss out on exploring their own beliefs more deeply.

 

[calmloki]

Started watching a HBO Go series last night - Heroes Cotidianos. Subtitles for me, but a very good depiction of consumption and life at the other end of the spectrum. First episode had to do with a young man who is fascinated with astronomy and an older couple who drives around providing astronomy views to people who don't normally get to view through telescopes. Not boring. Good to see people at different economic levels and recognize the wealth we all have. Sucked me right into the second episode and part of the third.

 

[B0bL0blaw]

Society is obsessed with these random weirdoes that nobody has ever heard of until I spent years photographing them and promoting them for my documentary.

 

[Rustic23]

Is the question of wealth today any different than before. The Rockellers, Carnegies, Fords and Rothschilds. There has always been a concentration of wealth. Is it worse today. I'll bet it depends on the eye of the beholder and how the statistics can be bent.

I inherited no money from my family. However, through work and savings I consider I am better off than they were. And, I think that is the American dream. I have always heard that the 'American Dream' was for ones kids to do better than them. Guess Bill Gate's kids got a problem.

 

[Amethyst]

That's an interesting thought. I think of frugality and thrift as tools, rather than virtues. I cringe at thinking of myself as "virtuous." I mean, I'm a good person and all that, but to pat myself on the morality back for being careful with money, would be like patting myself on the back for taking care of my teeth (say).

I also think the values of thrift and frugality aren't quite as noble as we like to think. Who's selling these values? Is it your employer who doesn't want to give you a COL increase in your salary this year while giving the executives huge bonuses? Easy for them to say. When things get too out of balance, the peasants revolt. We'd be foolish to ignore this part of history.

"The peasants are revolting!" "You can say that again."