For some people standard of living isn’t absolute, it’s relative. They don’t judge by how comfortable they are or how much they can do with what they have, they judge based on how much better off they are than everyone else. For these people standard of living rising for everyone else would be equivalent to theirs dropping massively. It’s pretty fucked up.
If you can convince the lowest white man he’s better than the best colored man, he won’t notice you’re picking his pocket. Hell, give him somebody to look down on, and he’ll empty his pockets for you. – Lyndon B. Johnson
For some people standard of living isn’t absolute, it’s relative. They don’t judge by how comfortable they are or how much they can do with what they have, they judge based on how much better off they are than everyone else. For these people standard of living rising for everyone else would be equivalent to theirs dropping massively. It’s pretty fucked up.
If you can convince the lowest white man he’s better than the best colored man, he won’t notice you’re picking his pocket. Hell, give him somebody to look down on, and he’ll empty his pockets for you. – Lyndon B. Johnson