Another point towards this hypothesis, but on the wealthy end of the spectrum rather than the poor end:
<a href="http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.vox.com&#x2F;2015&#x2F;1&#x2F;16&#x2F;7545509&#x2F;inequality-waste" rel="nofollow">http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.vox.com&#x2F;2015&#x2F;1&#x2F;16&#x2F;7545509&#x2F;inequality-waste</a><p>The questions are, why are positional concerns so obscenely powerful here as opposed to elsewhere, and why are positional concerns so obscenely powerful now as opposed to earlier?†<p>†Note the latter is somewhat questionable, as we had a black underclass to systemically persecute for a long time, and this action is blamed for everything from our lack of a public healthcare system to the gaps in our educational policy favoring high-income areas to suburban roadbuilding to the prevalence of private neighborhood &amp; household swimming pools.