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this post was submitted on 03 Sep 2023
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I hate to sound callous, but I don't feel much sympathy for a rich person who went out to the desert to pretend to be a hippie and didn't check the weather forecast.
I used to run in a party crowd that had a LOT of burning man folks in it. There were a couple of them that had middle class incomes, maybe even leaning upper middle class. Those are usually the ones that had an art car or whatever that they sank some money into, instead of the crap that most upper middle class Americans blow their money on.
But the rest of them? They worked at restaurants, did massage therapy, teachers, etc. normal people with median or lower incomes that would forego other expenses to set aside a little a money for their annual get high in the desert trip.
Yes, there’s a bunch of elitists at the core of the event, but it’s not the majority.
This year's BRC census.
TLDR: The trend of wealthy people is going up while the less wealthy trends down.
The other takeaway is that more than half the attendees make more than 100k a year so not exactly a minority.
100k salary is a decent amount of money but it’s far as fuck from being “rich”.
It might be a perspective thing, and how you both define "rich".
If someone gets by every week on ramen, a salary of $100k/year would seem like a crap ton of money. Doubly so if most of their community is also living off of ramen. One year on that salary alone would be life changing for this person.
If someone lives in a pricy area and maybe has a few kids, a salary of $100k wouldn't seem like nearly as much. Doubly so if most of their community makes that much. One year on that salary is just another year for this person.
For some people, "rich" is not having to worry about starving and knowing that they have a roof over their head. It's about finally being able to buy non-necessities, and it's about being able to have things just for enjoyment. Some people are very month to month in terms of costs and bills.
To others, "rich" is being able to buy expensive boats and cars. It's about having excess wealth and never having to worry about any monetary problems. These people might think of millionaires and billionaires when they hear the word "rich".
Of course some people would consider $100k/year rich. I'm certain that MANY people would take that salary boost in a heartbeat.
I'm not saying that $100k would set you up anywhere near as much as $1m would, but it's a hell of a lot more money than many people can make.
In 10 years, that salary is $1,000,000. For someone making $50k/year, it would take 20 years for them to make that much. For someone making $25k/year, it would take 40 years for them to earn that much. I would feel disingenuous telling someone who makes $25k/year that making $100k wouldn't be becoming "rich" to them.
Maybe that's their monetary sweet spot, and they rely on other things to finish fulfilling their personal definition of "rich". Family, friends, hobbies, etc.
If 100k isn’t rich to you then you have lived an exceptionally blessed life.
How rich you are on 100k really depends on where you live.
Tell that to people making less than 30k and describe the look they give you
I suddenly have the urge to tell you how much I make just to piss you off.
As one of those people you are presuming to speak for, no, I wouldn't consider 100k rich. I find that to be an absurd statement.
Bro, median household income in the US is almost $80k. It's not 1998 anymore.
It's 70k and median means that half of households make less than that, not that its the most common salary.
True for one person but this is household income. A married couple both making $50k would fall into this. While that is definitely not poor by any means. I think it is fair to say that it would be a bit of a stretch to call a person in the us today making $50k "rich."
What do you mean? The article that was pulling the data used "household income" as the data set... It is exclusively talking about household income.
Yeah I went back and checked. Wrong about that, but I'd like to reiterate that 100k is simply the lower bound of the range provided. It does not mean that any or even a majority of them were making exactly 100k per household. In fact, 15% are listed as 300k which is more than the amount of people attending making less than 30k. Then you also have to consider that households that do make 100k are far more likely to have single-income earners than households only making 50k.
People tend to acquire wealth over time? There is a solid correlation between wealth and age, so this shouldn't be surprising in the least. And especially those who had time/energy to spare to attend festivals earlier are especially predisposed for acquiring now wealth down the line. Assuming that they return over the years, all of this is pretty much to be expected.
---In 2013, the median age of burners was 32, and in 2022, it was 37.
My take away was that it seems like it is the same people going every year: they are getting older and richer, because that is what happens over time.
They still should have checked the weather report.
Even if they had checked the weather, would they have known 0.8 inches of rainfall translates into being stranded in the desert and possible death? I've never been to BM or spent time in a desert so this is news to me. Were people warning about this and attendees just ignored it?
Yes. You need to stay out of the desert if there is any rainfall. That is basic knowledge you should know before going out there.
That's a fair point, but at the same time the desert is well known for being the harshest of all environments on earth. It's surprising so many people treat it like just a drive to the store.
Yeh I don't understand it either. I'm from Australia. Driving into a desert sounds like a pretty dangerous thing to do, no matter what the weather forecast is.
Nah they know rain turns everything into quicksand. But it doesn’t create a situation more lethal than daily life there.
I didn’t say they were smart people. Just not all rich people.
And done what exactly??
It rains there sometimes. Forecasts change wildly day to day regardless. But it’s a desert and the water typically evaporates so quickly that an hour later there’s no evidence it rained.
Not to mention, it’s unlikely the person died from being trapped in the rain. I’m not sure why the article mentions both things except to give news about the event conditions I guess.
And not gone into the desert in the first place. This is basic knowledge when going into a desert.
Have you ever gone outside?