Enough Already with Conspicuous Consumption By Maria Grant

When I do my year in review, examples of over-the-top spending at almost obscene levels come to mind. 

A case in point. Jeff Bezos. Bezos owns a $165 million mansion in Beverly Hills; a $23 million home in DC; a $500 million superyacht featuring its own support yacht and helicopter pad; a $75 million private jet. His three-day wedding extravaganza reportedly cost $55 million and involved 90 private jets and 30 water taxis for the 250 VIP guests. The couple spent the holiday in Aspen before jetting off to St, Barts for some high-end shopping and mingling with the glitterati, including Leonardo DiCaprio and his girlfriend. I could go on.

Trump spent 15 days at Mar-a-Lago in December. He played golf at least 12 times, hosted a variety of gala dinners with excessive displays of fancy food, glitz, entertainment, etc. Last week, he had his motorcade veer from its usual route to the golf course to stop at a stone and tile shop so that he could select marble and onyx for his ridiculously large White House ballroom. During these little jaunts, helicopters fly overhead and increased security surround him. 

Already Trump has spent half a billion dollars in tax funds for vanity projects such as a military parade, a statuary garden, an upgrade to Air Force One, Oval Office décor and furniture, plus all the gold and glitz he added throughout the white House. (I’ve read several articles that predict that the next President will spend a substantial sum of money getting rid of all these so-called “enhancements.”) 

Trump’s plans for his spectacular birthday party in July 2026 to mark the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence are estimated to cost taxpayers $100 million.

Speaking of wasting tax-payer dollars, the National Guard deployments to L.A., DC, Portland, Chicago, and Memphis that nobody wanted are estimated to cost more than $473 million—a number that could pay for approximately 2,585 federal government employee jobs.

Meanwhile Trump has cut domestic spending by approximately $163 billion, including cuts to agencies charged with monitoring weather, scientific research, public health programs, and so much more. SNAP benefits and health care premiums have been negatively impacted and the costs to average Americans are predicted to continue to go much higher.

According to data from the Congressional Budget Office, wealth inequality has been rising steeply in the U.S. over the last 30 years. The top one percent of earners now owns nearly 30 percent of the total wealth in this country, with the bottom 50 percent owning only four percent of that wealth.

What happens when income inequality gets out of control? Social cohesion erodes, economic growth is hindered, and political polarization increases. 

Specifically, the economic impacts include slower growth, reduced mobility, and increased debt. From a societal perspective, heightened inequality breaks down community bonds and trust between different economic groups. Health for many citizens worsens, and people’s self-worth and fulfillment are diminished. 

So why is it so difficult for Americans to take steps to correct these disparities—steps such as increasing the minimum wage, taxing the rich more heavily, or providing basic income for all?

Sociologists claim that biases get in our way. Americans are often accused of zero-sum thinking—that is the belief that lifting someone else’s boat will cause their boat to sink lower. We also tend to blame personality traits rather than outside influences when people suffer from poverty. Labeling people who have not been given many privileges as lazy and unmotivated is an example of that behavior. 

There is also something called the halo effect. We credit successful people with positive qualities that may not be relevant to their success. 

So, what to do about all this income inequality? Sociologists suggest that we become more aware of our biases and understand how such thinking works against all of us. They suggest we slow down our biased thinking, imagine a better future together, and promote policy changes that drive down income inequality which would result in a happier and more cohesive society. 

Plutarch famously stated, “An imbalance between rich and poor is the oldest and most fatal ailments of all republics.” 

Let’s hope our country gets serious about addressing the inequality issue in 2026. 

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Maria Grant, formerly principal-in-charge of the federal human capital practice of an international consulting firm, now focuses on writing, reading, music, bicycling, and nature.