why rich people think (or at least say) they're middle class

 

Brian Donahue followed Chris Christie recently around on the campaign trail and discovered what he sees as a "baffling" disconnect in Christie's public persona: his strong ability to relate to average people as a "regular guy" despite the fact that he is among the top 1% of wealthiest Americans.
Donahue writes in NJ.com:  When a man standing in front of you looks you in the eye and says, "I don't consider myself wealthy," you have to take him at his word that, well, he's probably not wealthy. But when that man has publicly released his tax returns that show his family's income falls within the top 1 percent of all Americans? Well, you have to start to wonder if something fairly bizarre is going on inside his head. Such was the case with New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie last week, who twice told reporters during a swing through New Hampshire that despite earning ten times the median New Jersey income, he does not consider himself rich. In the video above I examine that detachment in the context of a series of events that make them all the more remarkable: Christie's amazing ability to connect personally with voters and sway them to his side with his common touch. It's a knack he's got, and, should he actually run, one he's counting on to vault him back into contention for the nation's first presidential primary. Rich guy? Common man? How to square it all? Watch the video and let me know what you think in the comments below.
In a follow-up piece in the Montclair SocioBlog, Jay Livingston provides an excellent answer to Donahue's paradox by way of using the sociological concepts of "self-perception" and "reference group." 

Picketty discussed

See Thomas Picketty's acclaimed Capital in the 21st Century discussed by Picketty and other popular economists at this CUNY event earlier this month. Read an excerpt from his book at the Harvard University Press site. For a list of recent reviews on this book, see this compendium.

inequality for all

Former Secretary of Labor, Robert Reich, stars in a new documentary, Inequality for All, about growing economic disparities in the U.S. The full hour and one-half version is available for rental on YouTube. The video premiered at the Sundance Festival earlier this year...

global rich list

Feeling overworked, underpaid, and tapped out? Visit the Global Rich List, and you may be surprised to learn you're actually among the global economic elite. Developed by Poke out of the UK, the interactive first went online in 2003 as a response to lists focusing on the super-rich, such as that published by Forbes. According to partner, Believe.in, these lists tend to distort the true picture of global inequality by ignoring the fact that the general populations of developed nations are incredibly better-off than the masses elsewhere. Like the first edition, the interactive encourages you to plug in personal data relative to income and then compares where you stand to the rest of the world. Comparisons are interestingly localized to enhance contrasts and to stimulate user contributions to Care International. The new edition however also includes a wealth option, and as well incorporates continually updated comparative information.