If you think back to childhood (or even just back to a few years ago), it’s clear that many things in life that were once intended for the masses have become wildly more expensive.
When I shared a list of several things that have been all but ruined by the rich, the BuzzFeed Community had a lot of opinions and things they wanted to chime in with. So, here are even more aspects of life that the wealthy have pretty much destroyed for the rest of us.
1.
“Cereal! It used to be a cheap kids food. Now, it costs $6-$7 for a single box where I live.”
2.
“Camping. Now, it’s all called ‘glamping,’ where you can get in touch with the outdoors with the help of a large screen TV and a full-sized fridge.”
3.
“Brands like Wranglers and Levi’s. Prices went up, but quality went way, way down across the board. In high school, I was able to buy Levi’s for maybe $10, and they’d last until they actually fell apart. But the last time I bought a pair, the denim just pilled up immediately. It’s actually hard to find any clothes that don’t do that nowadays.”
4.
“Buying a home. My grandparents bought a house in Maui in the 1950s for under $50,000. That same house, a 70+-year-old original house that has gone under hardly any renovations since, is now worth over a million dollars. And did I mention it’s sitting on a teeny tiny lot in a gully?!”
5.
“Politics. The amount of money spent on political campaigns is ridiculous. It could run some smaller countries for a year. There should be limits on how much each party can spend on their campaigns.”
6.
“Concerts. These days, you can’t even buy a beer at a concert for what a general admission ticket used to cost. And people still pay the absurd prices!”
7.
“Avocados. My grandpa still calls avocados a ‘poor man’s butter’ from his childhood in California. He can’t believe they’re such a pricy, luxury food now.”
8.
“Cheap cuts of meat. Long gone are the days when you could buy pork belly, lamb shanks, oxtail affordably. Thanks for that, TV chefs, and your ability to make the price of these formerly bargain ingredients quadruple in a single episode. Looking at you, Jamie Oliver!
9.
“Bikes. Not only are they expensive, but they’re always out of stock now. My husband and I tried to buy a couple bikes a year or so ago, and I was shocked at how hard they were to find. We had to order them six months in advance, and they weren’t really anything special.”
10.
“New York City. It’s truly impossible to live here now. The city has gotten so expensive.”
11.
“College education. It used to be affordable without aid. Now, tuition has sky-rocketed far beyond the rate of inflation, and only the very rich can actually afford it.”
12.
“Going to the theater. It is SO expensive now. I used to be able to buy tickets with a friend and get dinner first. These days, a single ticket to the theater costs what really nice dinner out used to cost for four people. And don’t even get me started on the cost of extras while you are at the theater — drinks especially are extortionate.”
13.
“The internet. Once upon a time, you knew the only people online were people who genuinely wanted to be part of the community and subculture. Then, the rich found out about it, and now, the internet has become nothing but ads, subscriptions fees, and data gathering.”
14.
“Live sporting events. A fun day out with a friend at an NFL game will run you around $500. Alternatively, you could watch it on your big screen TV at home which has better play-by-play and angles than being at the game where you end up watching half of it on a monitor anyway. Unless I get tickets for free, I don’t even bother going to sporting events anymore.”
15.
“Airbnb as a whole. It used to be a super accessible way to rent just a single, no-frills room for, like, $30 or a whole residence for not that much more. Then, this company saw dollar signs. Now, it’s not only unaffordable, but it’s also often such a hassle that you’re better off staying in a hotel.”
16.
“Cars. Now that rich people can afford to pay $65,000 for a BMW, Mercedes, or Audi, it’s impossible to get even a half-decent new car for under $30K.”
17.
“Thrifting. The popularity of thrifting due to the rich discovering it has really upset me over the years. Prices at thrift stores have gone up, making it difficult for people who solely buy their clothes there. Also, I hate those YouTube channels where people brag about the things they buy at thrift stores and flea markets and then sell their finds at a 300% markup.”
18.
“Skiing as a hobby. I’m a Denver native, and I grew up skiing at least once a month every winter. It was SO affordable, but now, my kids will likely never get to learn. It would cost upwards of a thousand dollars for my family of four to go skiing for the day. It’s absolutely nuts.”
19.
“Coffee. It used to be cheap, and you only had two choices when you ordered it — regular or decaf. It was a blue collar, working person’s drink… an office worker’s drink that was easily affordable. Now, coffee is wildly expensive.”
20.
“Nerd paraphernalia like Star Wars or Marvel stuff (action figures, comic books, etc.). These collectables used to be a fun hobby for kids and kids-at-heart. Now, it’s all almost totally purchased by rich, dedicated speculators solely for profit.”
21.
“Housing. In the old days, people only bought houses if they intended to live in them. Now, you have rich people looking to invest in real estate, so the rich buy up all the affordable housing, driving up the prices and creating scarcity.”
22.
“Video games. You used to be able to find used games and consoles practically for free. Nowadays, they’re all collectors’ items.”
23.
“Sailboats. It used to be that on a working man’s salary, you could get a decent day sailboat with enough cabin space and amenities to live on board for a long weekend, maybe a week (I’m talking something like the MacGregor 26). Now, nobody makes mere sailboats anymore; they make what are basically yachts. Expensive, over-designed yachts.”
24.
“Public beaches. The wet sand part of every beach is public access… but dry sand can be owned. And some rich people with property on beaches will hire private security to patrol ‘their’ beach.”
25.
“Land that once housed family-fun spots like kitschy amusement parks, camp sites, picnic areas, fishing holes, camp grounds, and miniature golf. Now, most land is too valuable for such simple pleasures; so many of these places have become business parks, high-rise condos, or restaurant rows.”
26.
“Farmers markets. The one in my town is essentially an outdoor grocery store now, no longer a way to save money on local produce. It has the same prices as Whole Foods, and only a few items even look like they’re better quality.”
27.
“Lobster. This shellfish was once considered the ‘cockroach of the sea,’ and it was fed mostly to prisoners. Now, look at the price of lobster once the wealthy discovered it’s delicious.”
So, what else have the rich ruined for the rest of society? Tell us in the comments.
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