Bill Cosby comes down hard on blacks for engaging in what he considers to be a harmful amount of conspicuous consumption — you know, buying expensive sneakers instead of books for your kids and the like. A recent article in Slate attempts to take race out of the equation and examines blacks people's spending habits, or use of "wealth signals" like cars, expensive shoes, jewelry, etc, as being influenced by economic factors, not cultural ones.
According to the article, black people are more likely to live in communities with other black people of the same economic status, which means that it's easier to keep up with, or even compete, with neighbors if everyone is making roughly the same amount. A white person of a lower economic status who lives in a community with people who make a lot more money couldn't possibly keep up with his or her neighbors, so he or she doesn't even try. The theory is that if black people made more money on average, then the conspicuous consumption of blacks would be at about the same level as that of whites.
Trust me, I'm no economist, so I really can't comment much on the research here. But I do know that there are some pretty heavy cultural influences — ahem, rappers, ahem — at work that inspire many blacks to spend beyond their means. I also think that, regardless of race, there has to be a difference in the spending in rural vs. urban communities. It seems that many factors — cultural, economic, and geographical — must be considered when analyzing the spending habits of different groups of people. [Slate]
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I don't think rappers influence my wanting to have a g'd up car, but I do think growing up in a city that's all about cars and car culture did. I mean, there are white lawyers rolling in LA in Benzes that are as g'd up as any rapper. Go to 310 Motors on a Saturday and it's full of as many yuppies as it is with homies. If my car doesn't have the right tires, rims and AV…I feel naked. I don't know how that came to be, but it's the reality.
Conspicuous consumption is generally a sign that a person has lived through poverty at some point. It's not just a person but their parents as well. Note that the nouveau riche are generally those who are guilty of showing off. My family's not rich but they've never been really poor either. My grandparents and parents taught me to invest. They also passed on the general attitude that conspicuous consumption and all things gaudy are for rich trash.
http://gorgeousblackwomen.blogspot.com/
"Note that the nouveau riche are generally those who are guilty of showing off." Very true. My husband's family is fairly well off from real estate and other stuff that his grandfather did in the 50's. You'd never know it though. They are very low key with their money. They put it into real estate which is how we get to live in the home we live in.
"Conspicuous consumption is generally a sign that a person has lived through poverty at some point." My husband has made that point many times about black people. He says you never see white ppl showing off. I tell him he didn't grow up in LA. LMAO!
All races are guilty of conspicuous consumption. It's a poverty mentality and some people pass it on to their kids. As for white people: Britney Spears, Tom Cruise's beard, the Beckhams, Hugh Hefner, Donald Trump, Jay Leno, Elizabeth Taylor, Paris Hilton (old money exception). All of these people spend far too much on overpriced cars, clothes, jewelry and other show-off items. The fact that they aren't getting diamond studded grills doesn't mean they aren't spending conspicuously.
http://gorgeousblackwomen.blogspot.com/
'You never see white people showing off like that.' Sometimes I get so sick of being compared to white people. And yet again, the comparison is inaccurate because all of us know of some white people who buy beyond their means, or buy something flashy (clothes, car, whatever). But see ONE Black person doing it to and suddenly its a behavior the entire race is guilty of.
But back to the actual Slate article, I appreciate the attempt to 'deracialize' conspicuous consumption - this is America, where we are taught you are nothing without your possessions, this type of behavior is heavily influenced by the society at large (meaning more than just hip hop caused the craze for bling.)
He was making a generality - one that black people make all the time, by the way, because I'm fairly confident that my husband knows my entire race isn't guilty of being flashy as he knows that I don't think all Italians are guidos even though I sometimes make comments that would lead someone who doesn't know me (or us) to think I did. His views on things are shaped a bit by his previous and current jobs: inner city teacher and now Sherriff.
kjen, go to 2:17
http://youtube.com/watch?v=2Kh32TcTzZE
People who have little true interaction with black people base it on what they get from TV. When you keep seeing that negative representation over and over again, I don't think it's irrational (though it's still incorrect) to attribute those traits to all of those people.
The garbage people see on TV is the bulk of their experience with black folk. Even for those who actually live in diverse areas, how many of them really know the blacks they're around? If it's not black women shaking it on TV or rappers showing off, it's Eddie Murphy doing the mammy drag or the sassy secretary on their regular TV shows.
"As for white people: Britney Spears, Tom Cruise’s beard, the Beckhams, Hugh Hefner, Donald Trump, Jay Leno, Elizabeth Taylor, Paris Hilton (old money exception). All of these people spend far too much on overpriced cars, clothes, jewelry and other show-off items."
All of those people named have incentive to consume the products they do. It's all wrapped up in image, and brand building. And hey, they get discounts and deductions for it, I'm sure. Companies want these celebrities to be seen driving certain cars or carrying a particular purse. They need footage of these celebs leaving expensive boutiques. In the end, that's beneficial to their bottom line.
I agree that conspicuous consumption is part of the American Dream, which is ingrained in our psyche, and central to American culture. But it's not exclusive to America…see China.
"All of those people named have incentive to consume the products they do. It’s all wrapped up in image, and brand building." Same goes for rappers. People with the poverty mindset are still going to emulate it regardless of race.
As for China, I'll attribute hat to the poverty mindset too. The conspicuous consumption in the elite is really just "flossin."
If you have it like that, you should first save and invest to secure your future, help others better their lives, buy high quality things that you care for (versus status items) and have great experiences. Of course, everyone thinks their way is the right way.
Pray-tell Slate:
How would a bunch of psuedo-intellectual white journalist, with their high-and-mighty liberal viewpoints know so much about the black community.
Since whites have all the answers, why don't they just share their intelligence with us simple black folks?
Oh wait! THey already did and–surprise surprise– it didn't work!
Nice Try.
Everyone is guilty of flossin'. White people are forever spending money on things they know they cannot afford.
hairsmystory.com
"Conspicuous consumption is generally a sign that a person has lived through poverty at some point."
Great line, Daria!! So true.
Black people do spend money on dumb shit though. Folks around here (Detroit) will buy a Escalade with high ass insurance and won't have a pot to piss in. Trust me, I've seen it and heard about it from an insurance agent. How can you buy a car with 24 inch rims and shit yet the roof on your house is about to cave in?
Mmmmmm….24 inch rims. (in my best Homer Simpson voice)
Jilly! 313!
'Black people do spend money on dumb shit though.'
huh? y'all haven't seen the numbers on Americans and credit card debt?
it's not just black people. Americans spend more than they make. period.
I'm tired of driving thru the hood and seeing cars with rims worth more than the cars themselves. Black people do "waste" their money on unnecessary items (but race doesn't define spending habits). I'm always being "out-dressed" by kids who I know are poorer than me. Their clothes are on point, but can't seem to afford a car. My brother is one of them. Buys shoes to match every outfit, but can't even put any of it to good use. I think it has something to do with being accepted in society. Thanks to slavery and racism, blacks have always struggled with "fitting in." So since they have more money these days, they want to say that they're just as good as everybody else… even if it puts them in debt.