US: The Rich Get Richer & the next Gilded Age is here

[Boobalaa]

www.theguardian.com: Death by gentrification: the killing that shamed San Francisco | Rebecca Solnit

Alejandro Nieto was killed by police in the neighbourhood where he spent his whole life. Did he die because a few white newcomers saw him as a menacing outsider?

 

[deleted15807]

MIAMI — Behind a locked door aboard Norwegian Cruise Line’s newest ship is a world most of the vessel’s 4,200 passengers will never see. And that is exactly the point.

In the Haven, as this ship within a ship is called, about 275 elite guests enjoy not only a concierge and 24-hour butler service, but also a private pool, sun deck and restaurant, creating an oasis free from the crowds elsewhere on the Norwegian Escape.

In an Age of Privilege, Not Everyone Is in the Same Boat
Companies are becoming adept at identifying wealthy customers and marketing to them, creating a money-based caste system.

 

[bar4doug]

MIAMI — Behind a locked door aboard Norwegian Cruise Line’s newest ship is a world most of the vessel’s 4,200 passengers will never see. And that is exactly the point.

In the Haven, as this ship within a ship is called, about 275 elite guests enjoy not only a concierge and 24-hour butler service, but also a private pool, sun deck and restaurant, creating an oasis free from the crowds elsewhere on the Norwegian Escape.

In an Age of Privilege, Not Everyone Is in the Same Boat
Companies are becoming adept at identifying wealthy customers and marketing to them, creating a money-based caste system.

This is no different than those exclusive areas at ballparks and arenas - The Moat at Yankee Stadium comes to mind first.

A business is going to go broke waiting for the middle class to take a cruise, so they cater and compete for those with the disposable income...

 

[Klingsor]

A business is going to go broke waiting for the middle class to take a cruise, so they cater and compete for those with the disposable income...

To the extent that's true, and such trends are on the rise, it only further illustrates the widening gap between the wealthy and the middle class--or, that nowadays, effectively, there *is* no middle class.

 

[deleted15807]

To the extent that's true, and such trends are on the rise, it only further illustrates the widening gap between the wealthy and the middle class--or, that nowadays, effectively, there *is* no middle class.

That was the point.

"Look at all the poor people on top of that cruise ship, father!"

"Yes son. Those are the lazy dregs of society that don't have the work ethic or education or morals required to own their own yacht. Pay them no mind."​

 

[halcyondays]

My country 'tis of thee
Sweet land of plutocracy
Of thee I sing...

 

[deleted15807]

This is no different than those exclusive areas at ballparks and arenas - The Moat at Yankee Stadium comes to mind first.

A business is going to go broke waiting for the middle class to take a cruise, so they cater and compete for those with the disposable income...

You're great at just stating facts and following the Capitalist 101 model of economic theory while blissfully unconcerned with the darker side and ultimate failure it is heading towards. America is mired in a New Gilded Age of savage inequality and abject financial corporatocracy so extreme that the top 1 percent owns more than 90 percent of the nation’s wealth along with an outsized portion of the nation’s “democratically elected” officials. And that apparently does not bother you. It is as it should be. Never mind the kings, queens, sultans, emperors, czars and all other "royalty" that once controlled vast resources and felt themselves deserving of it all like today's corporations and their shareholders they all fell to revolutions or just plain decay and coruption.

 

[rbkwp]

funny read
we think of the excessively wealthy as fat and rich huh ..
moderat well earned working wage, cool ha'

mebeee your new incomming commander of death aka president Trump will screw a reality makeover out of this guy

Sharpen up its act duh'

See this watch? It cost me $30,000, and it's the one I wear when I'm dressing down.

I Make $600,000 a Year Tormenting Rich People

Sadistic tales of an ultra high-end personal trainer.

IF YOU'RE FAT, LOADED, DESPERATE, and willing to endure months of torment and mind games in order to get your shit together, you should call Hamid Castro. Describing himself as "Hitch on steroids," the 26-year-old overhauls the bodies, minds, wardrobes, and sex lives of the very rich. He'll take you to his haircutting guy, dermatologist, his dentist. He'll tell you what to eat, force you to exercise -- sometimes in the middle of the night while screaming at you -- and talk you through your problems with the deftness of a shrink (a really insulting shrink, but still)

www.thrillist.com: I Make $600,000 a Year Tormenting Rich People

 

[Boobalaa]

I figured this was a good as thread as any to place this cool link that is, if you're into the Dystopian genre..This guy is coming out with a new book, "Splinterlands" in a couple months..

John Feffer, On the Verge of the Great Unraveling

Here's his take on Donald Trump

John Feffer, Slouching Toward the Apocalypse