> If everyone could live where they wanted to, put their kids through good schools, did not have to pay student loans, save for retirement, and could afford vac

> If everyone could live where they wanted to, put their kids through good schools, did not have to pay student loans, save for retirement, and could afford vacations An ever growing share of household spending is driven by the positional goods you mention. People work harder and longer so they can outbid other people for particular houses and schools and vacation rentals. The net effect of cutting everybody's income is not anymore as important as is typically assumed. The bidding war for good neighborhoods and so forth simply de-escalates with lower incomes.