1 percent of The american population amounts to about 3 million people, assuming that children are evenly distributed among American households (inequality is estimated from income tax data, which is usually broken down by household, not persons.) Forbes claims that there are 442 billionaires in the US, and social stratification among the one percent is actually pretty extreme.
While there are clubs which cater to people who spend like “ultra-high-net worth” individuals, to use the private banking term, they are pretty rare. Certainly there are more competent chefs than that.
This isn’t about having or not having gobs of cash. This is about the average person in society enjoying the benefits of living in an prosperous society. One very minor component of that is being able to eat out every so often at a fancy restaurant.
[QUOTE]Sears, J. C. Penney, and Loehmann’s aren’t failing because of changing demographics. They’re failing because they haven’t adapted to an era of increased access and information.
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my sense of it is that it isn’t the fact that Applebee’s serves terrible food, but that it’s overpriced and sells this illusion of a “nice sit-down meal” which is mostly starch and salt, as the waitstaff tries to shove you out the door as fast as possible to maximize turnover. i don’t think of people who go there as poor or lower-class; i just think of them as idiots, even the richer ones.
in contrast, there’s McDonald’s. you go there, you buy a McDouble or two for $1.39 each, and that’s the right price for what you get. there are no illusions. i go to McDonald’s once or twice a week, and leave satisfied. i will never go to Applebee’s unless I have to.
