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> “My socks cost more than everything you’re wearing.” That’s a strange thing to waste money on for signaling. It just showed the lack of understanding on marg

• mlyle 4y ago
  > It just showed the lack of understanding on marginal utility on commodity items. I think you're showing the lack of understanding of marginal utility. By the time you're spending $45k on doorknobs, $400 on socks might offer equal marginal utility per dollar.
  • steveBK123 4y ago
    I think a lot of what this thread shows is that everyone has a different utility function. That's kind of whats interesting about the modern economy is we can all express our preferences in how we spend. The bottom end has gotten much cheaper and the top end has gotten exponentially more expensive, and in many markets the middle has sort of disappeared. This contrasts a lot with the 1950s boom era where there was a big thick middle end and not a huge range from bottom to top.
    • MandieD 4y ago
      I have a t-shirt I bought at the Gap around 1996 that is still wearable, though a bit worn-looking where the collar meets the shoulder seams. Thick, sturdy cotton. It was probably around $15, which would be about $30 today. There is no such plain ladies’ fit t-shirt consistently offered anymore. Either tissue-thin and less than $20, or involves a silly print and/or ruffles and lace.
    • executesorder66 4y ago
      > The bottom end has gotten much cheaper and the top end has gotten exponentially more expensive, and in many markets the middle has sort of disappeared. This enrages me so much. I hate cheap crap, but I equally hate over the top, necessary, expensive crap. I prefer something well made, with minimal functions, for a middle price. But finding this is becoming increasingly rare as time goes on.