Two articles from the NY Times:
• 'But I Neeeeeed It!' She Suggested: How teen-agers pester their parents for the latest must-have gadget (iPod, cell phone, etc.)
• Class Matters: When the Joneses Wear Jeans: Now that makers of luxury goods are introducing lower-end models, the quest for status is becoming more characterized by the consumption of personal services — nannies, expensive haircuts, and so on.
A family in our parish is "comfortable" (read: wealthy). Both parents are Ivy Leaguers, and their children are at, or graduated from, elite schools and colleges. Yet they live in a very modest, even cramped, townhouse. They drive very middle-class cars. They do their part, and then some, in the outreach- and mission work of the parish. They don't talk about money, but the word on the street is that they give a large portion of their annual income to charity. Now that's status.
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