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Servants of some sort have been a staple of the historic middle class for a long time. The thing we often overlook is that the consumer technologies of the 1950

Servants of some sort have been a staple of the historic middle class for a long time. The thing we often overlook is that the consumer technologies of the 1950's and forward meant that we could use machines (like washers and dryers) instead of people, and as a result our perception of middle class changed: if you had a car, a washer and dryer, a refrigerator, and a phone, you were middle class. As someone said on HN a while ago, a lot of these gig economy apps of publicly sourced private service seem to be there just to make the 1% feel like the .01%

sneak 11y ago
I think you mean the 10% - the 1% in the US is a household income of >=$380k/year or so.
- rm_-rf_slash 11y ago
  Thanks for the data, but it is worth mentioning that in a major metro area having services like private drivers, chefs, maids, butlers etc is unheard of at a mere $400k. But if you can call it with an app, then welcome to the new upper-upper middle class.
  - dopamean 11y ago
    I lived in New York for a long time and have friends who make around 400k annually and they live very large on it. Maybe not personal drivers but the hedge funds they work for will send a car for them at any moment. Maybe not live in chefs but luxurious catered meals at the office every day couple with a generous budget for offsite company lunches. And they all have maids.
    - ghaff 11y ago
      And even if high income urban (in particular) individuals don't have all those company perks, they avail themselves of many services that historically meant having a cook, driver, etc. Today, it often makes sense to contract out to companies rather than have dedicated staff, which is indeed expensive and often not justified outside of a business context. They have an account with a black car service and use Uber. They have groceries and prepared food delivered--and/or eat out a lot if that's their preference. They probably do have a maid who comes in periodically. If they have a young child, some sort of help is not uncommon. They may well have some sort of laundry/dry cleaning service.

sneak 11y ago

I think you mean the 10% - the 1% in the US is a household income of >=$380k/year or so.

rm_-rf_slash 11y ago
Thanks for the data, but it is worth mentioning that in a major metro area having services like private drivers, chefs, maids, butlers etc is unheard of at a mere $400k. But if you can call it with an app, then welcome to the new upper-upper middle class.
- dopamean 11y ago
  I lived in New York for a long time and have friends who make around 400k annually and they live very large on it. Maybe not personal drivers but the hedge funds they work for will send a car for them at any moment. Maybe not live in chefs but luxurious catered meals at the office every day couple with a generous budget for offsite company lunches. And they all have maids.
  - ghaff 11y ago
    And even if high income urban (in particular) individuals don't have all those company perks, they avail themselves of many services that historically meant having a cook, driver, etc. Today, it often makes sense to contract out to companies rather than have dedicated staff, which is indeed expensive and often not justified outside of a business context. They have an account with a black car service and use Uber. They have groceries and prepared food delivered--and/or eat out a lot if that's their preference. They probably do have a maid who comes in periodically. If they have a young child, some sort of help is not uncommon. They may well have some sort of laundry/dry cleaning service.