Last week our class discussed When COVID hit, a Colorado county kicked out second-home owners. They hit back., by Nick Bowlin in High Country News. The article explores an election cycle in small, nonmetropolitan Gunnison County, Colorado, population: 16,918.
When Covid first hit, county officials implemented a temporary ban on nonresident property owners to try offsetting the burden that the nonresidents put on local resources such as health care, public services, first responders, and food supplies. The nonresidents fought back by creating a super PAC to influence the upcoming election for two open seats on the board of county commissioners. Basically, the town divided into two sides: 1) the nonresident, second homeowners whose property was mostly used as vacation homes, and 2) the native residents who worked to sustain the local economy that provided the second home owners with their getaway activities.
The article is filled with themes of rural gentrification. Another blog about Gunnison, Colorado, and more rural cities that have been gentrified, written by Melissa Stratton, is here.
The ringleader of the super PAC was Jim Moran, a Texas native and former private equity firm manager. As the article states, his second home, where he lived during the Covid lockdown, is a $4.3 dollar mansion perched on a bluff above Crested Butte, a ski resort, in Gunnison County.
A particularly interesting part of the article was the nonresidents' disdain for being called "rich" or even comparatively wealthy. Pulling from the comments of the Facebook group created by the nonresidents, a group member stated, "'I'm certainly not 'rich.' I've worked for my entire life to have the properties I own." When Nick Bowlin asked Jim Moran if he and the other nonresidents who own multiple properties are considered wealthy in comparison to the locals who are struggling to pay their own rent, Mr. Moran responded that he thinks that is wrong--that they're not wealthy.
This made me ask myself the question: since when is it an insult to be labeled rich?
When I think about all the people I know, making a lot of money is the main motivator in most of their lives. As I'm scrolling through social media, I can't escape content surrounding themes of "how to get rich quick," "creating passive income," "establishing generational wealth," etc. Most of the songs I listen to revolve around having massive amounts of wealth and showing it off. In the City Girls' Where the Bag At, the two Miami based rappers list their requirements for a partner, which starts with having plenty of money and being eager to spend it on them. In A Boogie wit da Hoodie's Ballin', he begins the song bragging about spending thirty thousand dollars on each outfit. In Baptiize by Future, a song about spoiling women with jewelry, clothes, cars, and private jet fueled vacations, the Atlanta rapper states, "making money is the only thing that excites me."
Moreover, when I was growing up, I remember spending so much time trying to convince everyone around me, and sometimes even myself, that my family and I had a lot more money than we actually did. Since a young age, my mom always stressed how important it is to look well put together so no one would think we were poor. Since then, I have heavily associated my outward appearance with class. By always dressing nicely, I felt like I was proving and somewhat manifesting my spot as part of the upper middle class.
I took this desire to look wealthy extremely far in undergrad. This was the first time I was surrounded by truly rich people, and I felt incredibly insecure. I remember not paying my utilities bill for almost an entire year because it felt so expensive, but I bought lots of clothes online every time my biweekly paycheck deposited into my bank account. No one could see my utilities bill climbing to over $1000 but everyone loved my adorable outfits and that was way more important!
In hindsight, all of this was very silly of me and I'm glad I've matured enough to at least pay my bills before I go shopping. Still, I can't help but think about how I spent so much time, energy, and anxiety on convincing people that I was well-off. If someone mistook me as rich, I would have exploded with happiness.
In contrast, the nonresidents in Bowlin's article are living in their mansion vacation homes and organizing super PACs to resist local government, all while insisting that they are not wealthy.
Why is it that Moran and people like him are so strongly against being labeled rich? Based on Moran's Facebook comment, there seems to be some association between being "rich" and not working hard, but do that many people actually believe that? Most working-class people I know idolize the rich and give them nothing but props for getting where they are, no matter how they got there. Moreover, are the residents of Gunnison County, who had no vacation homes to escape to, not also hard-working despite their lack of property ownership?
Possibly the most pressing question of all is this: if rich people don't want to be labeled rich why don't they just stop being and acting so rich? During the global pandemic where millions died, thousands lost their jobs, hospitals were overflowing with bodies, and people were scrambling to feed their families, who else but the rich would start a super PAC because, in Moran's own words, "There has never been a better opportunity for change, and we intend to exploit that to the fullest extent."
All of those being labeled "rich" have the power to donate the excess of their wealth, sell their additional properties, and live like middle-class, everyday Americans who don't have the money or power to influence elections when they are annoyed by politicians.
I understand why they don't do this. I wouldn't either if I was in their shoes (but I would donate a lot and always invest in my community!!). But also, if someone called me rich as I was looking down at the ski resort my property sits atop, I would definitely take it as a compliment and feel grateful that I never have to worry about my utilities bill ever again.
4 comments:
I really enjoyed reading your post! I think now being called rich is like being called white, people get very defensive about it when the conversation about white is about whiteness/white supremacy, and the conversation about rich should be about the redistribution of wealth. I liked your question- why don't they just stop acting like they're rich? Thanks!
I'm not too surprised by this phenomenon, especially in the aftermath of the Occupy Wall Street movement, the differentiation between the 1% and the 99&, and the rise of folks like Senator Bernie Sanders who have essentially waged war against the notion of being rich or too rich. I think if you polled progressives as to whether it is evil or somehow immoral to be a multi-millionaire, or certainly a billionaire, quite a few folks would say yes. This is a relatively modern phenomenon, I think. There's this underlying idea that if you amass a certain amount of wealth (not sure what the number would be) you must have harmed others in that process. Hence, we have calls for "wealth redistribution," which is fascinating to me because "re"distribution presupposes that wealth is distributed in the first place. Distribution is "the action of dividing and dealing out or bestowing in portions among a number of recipients; apportionment, allotment." The idea that money is just being doled out by an entity (the state, I suppose) to make people rich, is something that should at least be analyzed rather than assumed.
This is a great question to ask, especially because, as you note, most people do not associate richness with laziness, despite what the rich claim when being offended by the term. It is so interesting that in such a capitalistic country, where the whole system is built off the idea that working hard will make you wealthy (despite that that not being a reality), the rich would admit that they haven’t earned their place in the world, by being offended by the term. It is almost as if they feel guilty for their lack of contribution to society based on all they receive from it. However, as you said, that guilt is not enough to make them do anything about it (like donate money or help even their own communities, let alone those outside their communities).
Great post! You brought a very fresh and insightful perspective to the idea of being called rich as a bad thing. I especially liked your ending remarks about rich people donating money to the community or selling their multiple properties. If the rich were genuine about their rich-struggle, they could easily give up their lifestyle!
I found your own personal stories eye-opening as to how the idea of being "rich" has influenced us even as young kids. I also remeber my family influencing me to dress as nicely and as put together as possible to give of a "richer" appearance. I know that this influenced my greatly in the future as I remember looking up how to dress for law school. ultimately it is interesting how people from all walks of life experience the expression of " the grass is greener on the other side." Thank you!
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