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I thought I was giving my kids the best childhood ever until my 4-year-old asked why we didn't own a 'bigger golf cart' (www.businessinsider.com)

submitted 2 weeks ago by return2ozma@lemmy.world to c/nottheonion@lemmy.world

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[-] BananaTrifleViolin@lemmy.world 217 points 2 weeks ago

This is a fluff piece written by someone in a rich bubble.

The 2 year old and 4 year old have no concept of money, the 4 year old did not "do most of the work" in a lemonade stand, and they do not have "their own money" to spend. Picking up after yourself and putting dishes in the sink are not chores, and kids this age aren't taking out the trash - of course they enjoy it when mummy does it and makes a big deal of how grown up the kids are for helping, and probably rewards then for it.

None of the ideas are innovative or relevant to most parents, and particularly not with a kids that age. This is just one rich bored parent with young kids sharing their "experiences". Pretty out of touch with reality.

[-] givesomefucks@lemmy.world 66 points 2 weeks ago

$150 a month for her dog's health insurance...

And she's calling herself "middle class" like she lives in the burbs....

The wealthy always think of themselves as "middle class" because they know people wealthier.

Just because billionaires exist doesn't mean millionaires who take annual child free vacations are suddenly "middle class".

They just don't want to actually admit they're wealthy and wasting a shit ton of money that should be going to taxes.

[-] esc27@lemmy.world 27 points 2 weeks ago

I worry that she actually is "middle class" and the wealth disparity has moved to the point that those of us who cannot spend $150 on pet insurance or drop $750,000+ on a house or $100,000 on a truck are effectively "poor", at least as far as the market is concerned.

[-] Nomecks@lemmy.ca 12 points 2 weeks ago

There's people with "Fuck you" money and people without "Fuck you" money.

[-] givesomefucks@lemmy.world 5 points 2 weeks ago

I mean, it should be median income/wealth, then a standard deviation either way.

But capitalism doesn't care about people, it cares about money. That's the only way the "middle class" can be defined differently.

Don't let capitalism define words.

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[-] EatATaco@lemm.ee 19 points 2 weeks ago

Where does she claim to be middle class? It seems she recognizes she was middle class as a kid, but now is not, considering she said "were" instead of "are."

I have a very different take away from this and that she knows she is wealthy, and trying to impart the understanding of their luck onto her kids...I don't see her at all denying her wealth.

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[-] Tinks@lemmy.world 15 points 2 weeks ago

Erm, not arguing that this lady is middle class, but dog insurance cost is not remotely relevant to that lol. I pay that for my dog and make less than 6 figures. My dog is just really important to me, and our last dog cost us thousands and thousands of dollars on vet bills. I'm not going to be blindsided dropping $5k in a day on vet bills again. Our dog has insurance because it seems like the financially responsible thing to do, especially when your dog is extremely active and engaging in sports that it may be injured doing.

[-] dch82@lemmy.zip 10 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

So-called upper middle class: "I'm middle class because there are people richer than me"

So-called lower middle class: "I'm middle class because there are people poorer than me"

IMO the middle class is an illusion

[-] givesomefucks@lemmy.world 4 points 2 weeks ago

Middle class is paycheck to paycheck, has been for a while.

I'm lucky enough I can stack retirement and I got a house when it was (comparatively cheap).

If we're splitting the classes by median income (assets could be done, but people in the middle class by median are lucky to even have a mortgage on a home) then it's about 40k for an individual and 75k for a household. And I'm solidly "upper class" even though I'll never amass more than a million in assets unless real estate inflation jumps past Ludacris and into plaid.

The fact that anyone with a million in assets, let alone cash/stocks would consider themselves "middle class" just tells you stupid people can luck out and become millionaires.

It's a level of delusion that is actual impressive.

So the "middle class" that's a single income, house in the burbs, two cars, vacations every year...

That shits gone. But that doesn't mean there isn't still a statistical middle class.

[-] NotMyOldRedditName@lemmy.world 12 points 2 weeks ago

If you're living paycheck to paycheck, you aren't middle class.

You might not be poor but definitely not middle.

Anyone who thinks that's middle class has just been fooled by the wealthy to make them think they're doing better than they are

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[-] CascadianGiraffe@lemmy.world 7 points 1 week ago

I can't afford $150 for my own health insurance

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[-] sunbrrnslapper@lemmy.world 5 points 2 weeks ago

What if how she lives is the way middle class should be? Like, we want to create a system where most people live this way (or have the option to).

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[-] dogsnest@lemmy.world 51 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

"Look! My kids are almost like other kids, except they're spoiled-wealthy-at-birth!"

--businessinsider.com

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[-] kirk781@discuss.tchncs.de 25 points 2 weeks ago

I looked for past articles from her on Business Insider. She is middle class, like rest of us. Which middle class person doesn't hire an accountant and spend $1000 per month to make parenting easy!

[-] ouRKaoS@lemmy.today 11 points 2 weeks ago

Hello fellow middle-class citizens!

[-] Modern_medicine_isnt@lemmy.world 8 points 2 weeks ago

Lol, have you seen the cost of daycare... $1000 per month easy in most cities. Probably not what you meant, but it still made me laugh.

[-] Geobloke@lemm.ee 6 points 2 weeks ago

She has a job and 2 kids in child care age. $25 a day seems reasonable even cheap to maintain her career. And if an accountant can pay for themselves on a journalists salary then she should right?

[-] magnetosphere@fedia.io 122 points 2 weeks ago

I was pleasantly surprised by this sentence:

But I made it a point to explain [to my children] that while sometimes being homeless can be a result of not making good choices, sometimes it's a result of not having good choices.

It smacks of empathy, which is more than I expected. Whatever one may think of the author, she’s trying to teach her children to be better, and that counts for something.

[-] vzq@lemmy.blahaj.zone 83 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

I’m putting my foot down! No more than fifteen presents!

What the actual fuck?

Also, what’s the deal with the golf cart? Why do they have a golf cart?

[-] Eideen@lemmy.world 42 points 2 weeks ago

[-] ivanafterall@lemmy.world 11 points 2 weeks ago

THUTTY SIX BUT LAHST! THUTTY SIX BUT LAHST!

[-] ABCDE@lemmy.world 15 points 2 weeks ago

It's quite common here to have one for driving around neighbourhoods, as cheap ones can be $1,000+.

[-] vzq@lemmy.blahaj.zone 38 points 2 weeks ago

That still does not answer my “why” question tbh.

But I suppose that in a country where “walkable neighborhoods” are construed to be some nefarious communist plot to rob people of their freedom, not walking its a status symbol.

[-] ABCDE@lemmy.world 16 points 2 weeks ago

"for driving around neighbourhoods", same as having a car.

[-] nehal3m@sh.itjust.works 15 points 2 weeks ago

So an inferior bicycle basically.

[-] ABCDE@lemmy.world 14 points 2 weeks ago

Depends on your needs.

[-] nehal3m@sh.itjust.works 7 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

Fair enough, although I’d argue getting around the neighborhood is easier on a narrow vehicle that can carry some cargo and doesn’t depend on batteries. A golf cart has all the downsides of a car in day to day use and it’s slower and exposed to the elements. It’s probably a Veblen good in this case.

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[-] azimir@lemmy.ml 7 points 2 weeks ago

The US hasn't really discovered Bakfiet bicycles yet.

Watching people take six kindergarten kids or a whole refrigerator on a bike through town in Berlin and Amsterdam was wonderful. They could do a pretty good Costco run on those things.

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[-] BananaTrifleViolin@lemmy.world 10 points 2 weeks ago

Yeah the why is laziness I guess? Why walk when you can drive a smaller electric buggy for small distances and a big car for big distances?

Golf carts make sense in retirement communities - presumably the companies behind them are "growing the market" by targeting families as an alternative to push chairs and walking? Also I'm guessing these are American neighbourhoods which still are designed around cars than true walkability?

[-] IMongoose@lemmy.world 4 points 2 weeks ago

They are popular in more affluent areas so they can be driven to clubhouses or other neighborhood spots, and unsurprisingly very common in neighborhoods that have their own golf course.

[-] queermunist@lemmy.ml 22 points 2 weeks ago

Imagine spending $1,000+ when walking is free.

I can imagine someone with a disability wanting a cart like this to get around, but this woman does not need a fucking golf cart.

We're all going to die because of this overconsumption bullshit.

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[-] Modern_medicine_isnt@lemmy.world 7 points 2 weeks ago

I tell ya, the present thing is rough. When I was a kid, I got cards from aunts and uncles. But now they all send gifts. So there is 5 gifts right there. Then there is the grandparents. They have so much time to shop, they can bring 5+ gifts for each kid and only spend $50. So we are already at 15 and we didn't even buy anything yet. It's nuts.
Also, everything seems to have to be a gift now. Can't just buy a thing and give it to them. It has to wait to be a present. Or maybe that's just my wife. But also, when I was a kid, even in the rural area I lived, there was a convenience story where we could buy gum, or baseball cards and stuff for very little money. Now a pack of Pokémon is like $6 for way less cards. The only cheap things kids can buy is candy, and we aren't supposed to let them do that anymore either. So everything ends up as a present.

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[-] Orbituary@lemmy.world 68 points 2 weeks ago

This is so tone deaf and privileged. Fuck this woman and this article.

[-] DragonTypeWyvern@midwest.social 21 points 2 weeks ago

Nothing funnier than seeing a bunch of Lemmings argue about the definition of middle class.

[-] hannesh93@feddit.org 18 points 2 weeks ago

So many humans are so incredibly bad at being content with what they have - the grass is always greener on the other side...

[-] AsakuraMao@moist.catsweat.com 14 points 2 weeks ago

Time to abandon the family and start a new one

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this post was submitted on 01 Sep 2024

252 points (88.0% liked)

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