[Zardoz]

The current widening gap between the very rich and the rest of us has happened before. It was known as The Gilded Age:

The Richest of the Rich, Proud of a New Gilded Age

Some are quite cocky about it, others not so much:

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'O')ther very wealthy men in the new Gilded Age talk of themselves as having a flair for business not unlike Derek Jeter’s “unique talent” for baseball, as Leo J. Hindery Jr. put it. “I think there are people, including myself at certain times in my career,” Mr. Hindery said, “who because of their uniqueness warrant whatever the market will bear.”

He counts himself as a talented entrepreneur, having assembled from scratch a cable television sports network, the YES Network, that he sold in 1999 for $200 million. “Jeter makes an unbelievable amount of money,” said Mr. Hindery, who now manages a private equity fund, “but you look at him and you say, ‘Wow, I cannot find another ballplayer with that same set of skills.’ ”

A handful of critics among the new elite, or close to it, are scornful of such self-appraisal. “I don’t see a relationship between the extremes of income now and the performance of the economy,” Paul A. Volcker, a former Federal Reserve Board chairman, said in an interview, challenging the contentions of the very rich that they are, more than others, the driving force of a robust economy.

[Tanada]

I know ultimatly we are all responsible for our own financial fate, but some of these nuevo rich just irritate the hell out of me with their attitude.

[I_Like_Plants]

There's an article on energybulletin and commondreams and probably a few other places, about "richistan" which for the vast majority of us here in the Empire, is the true enemy.

[jboogy]

An asshole is an asshole.rich ,poor it don't really matter. If some self-made guy starts to think his shit don't stink just cause he's got a fat knot ,his change in attitude will be self-evident no matter how hard he tries to hide it,thusly he will achieve asshole status.Snot offspring of the rich are mostly born with the stench of assholery enveloping them like the smell of rotting bodies in baghdad.They can shower in rose water three times a day and you'll still say to yourself "i smell ass"whenever they walk by.but by far the stinkiest of the ass-wipings are the mature offspring of old money,not only do they know they're entitled to a life of privilege simply by their mere existance,they also believe if they lived in europe they would surely be royalty,the worst thing about them is their conviction that even if they weren't fortunate enough to be born into wealth ,they would surely rise above it and achieve astronomical success no matter what their origins , based solely on their belief that they're "special".

[vision-master]

Why are these people envied by so many?

[Lore]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('vision-master', 'W')hy are these people envied by so many?

[I_Like_Plants]

I'd like to think it's the traditional condemnation of those who won't share, so that some of the trible are hungry while the rich ones sit on their wealth, among traditional societies that's the worst sin a person can commit. I also like to think it's anger at how the rich control things from the media to well, everything else including whether your son or daughter or you, get drafted for one of their wars.

But sadly, it's probably just consumer envy.

[Zardoz]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('I_Like_Plants', '.')..But sadly, it's probably just consumer envy.

[I_Like_Plants]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Zardoz', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('I_Like_Plants', '.')..But sadly, it's probably just consumer envy.

[lawnchair]

Whee. You have a supercar. You get to drive it on the same potholed, billboarded, congested, speed-limited highways to the Cracker Barrel as I do in my $3000 Corolla. I guess you could drive it in circles on a track, if that would help.

Whee. You have the highest end home entertainment system. On it you watch the same poorly written, poorly acted dreck that I rented from Netflix last night.

And then you die.

However, we should be glad that these guys are amused by baubles and babes. If any of these guys wanted to pull a Hunt Brothers scheme, just for fun, they could cause serious havoc.

[Zardoz]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('I_Like_Plants', 'I') *hope* you're being sarcastic.

[jboogy]

If I had crazy money;
lamborghini
ford gt
vette zo6
hennesey twin turbo viper
67' big block vette
cobra kit car w/ 427 side-oiler(just to fool the kids)
I've had my share of fast cars,built em' myself except for engine machining and trans building,it wasn't mainly about status or anything,(how much status do you get from a 74' z28,or a 68' skylark?)for me it was an adrenaline thing,not only the speed and thrill of street racing but the sweeties do have a thing for loud,flashy cars,when I used to cruise main and broad it was ,I must admit , something of an ego stroke when everybody would turn their head to see what was making that godawful noise. In spite of being P.O. aware I will also admit to currently owning a 1970 dodge charger that I'm planning on restifying to the ninth degree,I've already started aquiring parts.And in the interest of full disclosure I will confess that when done it's going to sport 500 lumpety-lump cammed ,dominator carbed cubic inches(poked and stroked 400 B-block),this will be fueled by home-distilled ethanol eventually.You can all tell me what a hypocritical asshole I am now.

[max_power29]

I'm not really envious of their consumption, but I am of their leisure and freedom. They never have to go to work every day to some waste of time job.

I would LOVE to live a middle class lifestyle without ever having to go to work or be dependent on having a job.

I would LOVE to have access to the justice system they do.

[I_Like_Plants]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('max_power29', 'I')'m not really envious of their consumption, but I am of their leisure and freedom. They never have to go to work every day to some waste of time job.

I would LOVE to live a middle class lifestyle without ever having to go to work or be dependent on having a job.

I would LOVE to have access to the justice system they do.

[zannebee]

I'm not envious of their consumption, the wastefulness of it kind of makes me sick. There was a time in my life when I was much younger that I might have been envious, but not anymore.

[jboogy]

We're americans , it's our legacy and destiny to consume,americans could no more stop conspicuously consuming than the sun could stop shining,or the fish could stop swimming(leave that one out since the oceans will be completely depleted eventually,oops),or the birds could stop flying,(shit, leave that one out too since many ,many species of birds have been undergoing a serious decline in numbers),or the bees could stop making honey,(damn,did it again,yes,yes ,I KNOW bee populations are plummeting in many parts of the world)....look I want every convenience and gadget known to man and no lefty,pinko envirementalist is gonna tell me I can't have it ,so there!