A Surviving Facts Blog
This past Monday, the Met held its annual fundraiser gala. It’s a spectacle, a parade of stars and influencers parading elaborate and artsy haute couture. This year’s theme was “Fashion As Art.” Outfits ranged from simple Channel elegance to symbolic statement- making constructions. Beyoncé, a co-chair who had not attended in 10 years, wore a shimmering skeleton-designed dress alternating sequined bones with nude mesh and finishing with a multi-layered, ruffled train. Nicole Kidman, Venus Williams, and Anna Wintour— Wintour approves every outfit worn to the gala— rounded out the co-chair list, each wearing stunning gowns costing more than many people make in a year. Jeff Bezos and his newlywed wife, Lauren Sanchez Bezos, primarily funded the gala, demonstrating yet again their chosen cause commitment.
The Bezos’ sponsorship provided controversy— and, therefore, extra publicity. Activist groups, such as the aptly named Everyone Hates Elon, as well as other stars urged invitees to boycott the event, though few did. Before the gala, posters depicting Bezos in Nazi regalia, called the event, “The Bezos Met Gala,” and targeted Amazon’s highly publicized worker exploitation. Notable no shows included Ariana Grande, Bella Hadid, Demi Lovato, Harry Styles, Jennifer Lopez, Meryl Streep, Taraji P. Henson, Taylor Swift, Timothee Chalomet, and Zendaya, among others.
The Met Gala raises millions for art— $42 million this year, a record. It displays art as fashion, this year’s theme, as noted, but always a direct or secondary theme of the gala. The artistry, construction and intricacy of the costumes (they cannot be called clothes) range from absurd to elegant, from all exposing to elaborate layers. I can imagine viewing the constructions in the Met galleries as reflections of era and artistry. In the past, I viewed the outfits this way, as imagination and craft displayed in the medium of dress.
But I couldn’t this year. As I casually swiped through the pictures of the attendees, the grotesqueness of the event overcame me. Instead of art, I saw the longstanding disconnect between the elite and the lives of all but the top 1% of Americans. Created by haute couture designers, these costumes cost tens, if not hundreds, of thousands of dollars. Add the showcased jewels, and the gala becomes a multi-million dollar spectacle. Only the selected, privileged individuals access this event. Some attendees have been born into this rarified petri party. Many have “earned” their invitations through talent, entrepreneurship and brilliance. Olympics gold medalist Alysa Liu was a new attendee this year. So were Stevie Nicks, The Rock Dwayne Johnson, Blackpink, and star children Blue Ivy Carter and Sunday Rose Kidman Urban. No matter how they get there, these are not the average Americans.
This year’s event occurred during a war with Iran, outrageous medical bills (including the lack of ACA subsidies Congress failed to continue), soaring gas prices, a stagnant job market and AI-driven layoffs at companies with record profits. This naked relief of wealth and reality breaks every moral value we Americans should stand for. People are struggling more than they have in years, a fact seemingly unregistered among the elite. The elite can afford today’s America. Their money is in the stock market— the top 10% own 83% of the stock market and reap most rewards. As I write this article, the news plays in the background. Reporters are talking to Iowans who inevitably start America’s voting seasons. These “average people” speak about groceries, day care, medical, utilities and gas costs, underscoring the affordability crisis the GOP fails to understand or address. One outfit from the gala could likely feed Iowa’s hungry children for months.
Of course the Met Gala is only one display of America’s disconnect between rich and average. In Washington, a razed White House lawn waits for construction eventually featuring gold filigree and crystal chandeliers. Bezos invests $75 million on a Melanie bio-pic as well as $55 million on his wedding to Sanchez whose ongoing plastic surgery has played out before us like a PG-13 film. Other tech bros buy up media companies in unfettered attempts to control information. The fired DHS Secretary Kristy Noem bought a $70 million luxury Boeing 737, used for her and her lover’s trysts. Trump, after firing Noem, plans to keep the jet. Speaking of Trump, Forbes reports that Trump’s wealth has increased by at least $3 billion for every year of his presidency, especially in his second term. Elon Musk pays minimal child support to his baby mamas, allegedly only $2760 per month to the mother of three of his children.
I’ve barely listed examples of unnecessary and extravagant spending among the top 1%. Alongside this spending, no contributions to any real American needs have been noted. Instead, we see spectacles— weddings, galas, ballrooms, buildings, arms. Money exists, just not for actual needs.
Last summer, I had a friend tell me that he did not expect billionaires to have greater morals than other Americans. I disagree. Great wealth leads to great power, and great power leads to great responsibility, as Luke 12:48 tells us. Why should we Americans not demand more from the top 10% when those very elites expect Americans to hold moral and religious values for which they lobby but do not hold themselves? This is oligarchy, rulership by wealth rather than common good. This hypocrisy keeps most Americans trapped in unrelenting daily labor while Jeff, Lauren and friends attend galas costing $100,000 per seat or (in the past) or fly to Epstein Island to indulge their desires.
Some economists argue that Americans cannot conceive how much a billion dollars is. Perhaps this is true. However, most Americans cannot even imagine how much $1 million is. Indeed, the median savings for retirement in America ranges, depending on age, from $180,000 to $537,000. Most Americans will never reach $1 million, let alone the $3 million financial planners now recommend for retirement. Nor can they achieve the common trappings of the American Dream: a home, 2 cars, decent schools and some money to spend. This is why Americans do not raise more concerns about wealth concentration, inequity and the growing rich and poor gap. They are chasing a possibility that has already been taken from them. Busy working, caring for families and homes, most Americans seek what they’ve been sold. Americans see the achievement of the top 10% and think these wealthy achieved such success through working hard, just like they are. “Look at the reward hard work provides,” is the mantra. The message overshadows the financial realization of what’s possible.
Last week, the Wall Street Journal published an article on a study by the conservative American Enterprise Institute asserting that the upper middle class is growing significantly while the middle class is holding steady and the lower class is shrinking. I read the article and studied the actual numbers, confused how most people report struggling instead of the gains reported in the study. The study also asserts that many Americans have reached the $3 million goal, which the WSJ highlights by featuring “upper middle class” families who’ve achieved this goal. The conservative AEI certainly has motive to publish such a report: to challenge the affordability crisis that Trump and his cronies reject.
How can the study achieve such conclusions? By shifting the parameters of low, middle, upper middle and rich classes. The U.S. government already is doing this. Lower class, for example, ranges from $30,000 to $55,280. Upper middle class, the study claim, ranges from $180,000 to around $450,000. By these definitions, indeed, the lower class is shrinking and the upper middle class is growing. But do you see the obvious? Live in Northeastern, Western and even bigger Mid-western and Southeastern states and $180,000 for a family of four will not achieve the American dream. It may pay for a home, cars and food, but it surely won’t cover college costs and vacations.
Instead, look at how other countries determine the ranges for their classes. Their parameters of poor and middle classes are higher than ours, in some cases more than double the amount. For example, accounting for the respective value of our currencies, Australia would extend our poverty limit to $75,000 per year. If we did this in America, we would nearly double the lower class in our country. With similar definitions, the upper middle class in the U.S. tumbles. Gotcha American Enterprise Institute.
So don’t tell me we’re doing ok in America. Like most Americans, I see the reality. This is why a display like the Met Gala disgusts me. We imagine ourselves to be the wealthy, imagine our possibility to be wealthy. But it’s a lie, like most of our government’s claims. Sadly, the media lacks investigative inquiry and willingness to expose truths. It’s time, Americans, to wake up.
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