I think it offends them on a basic level... after all it makes their silly purchases so much more obviously silly. It probably explains why at high income level

I think it offends them on a basic level... after all it makes their silly purchases so much more obviously silly. It probably explains why at high income levels, people still collect so much useless shit just for the sake of having it. It's also why there's a $10,000 iPhone, or ones you get crusted with jewels. The aristocracy is always seeking to distinguish themselves from the "Nouveau", and far more so from the "peasants". That's not a nice thing to think though, so it's rapidly sent through cognitive/ideological/religious filters and produces a more agreeable output for the thinker.