What do you think?
Rate this book
The Velvet Rope Economy: How Inequality Became Big Business
From New York Times business reporter Nelson D. Schwartz comes a gripping investigation of how a virtual velvet rope divides Americans in every arena of life, creating a friction-free existence for those with money on one side and a Darwinian struggle for the middle class on the other side.
In nearly every realm of daily life--from health care to education, highways to home security--there is an invisible velvet rope that divides how Americans live. On one side of the rope, for a price, red tape is cut, lines are jumped, appointments are secured, and doors are opened. On the other side, middle- and working-class Americans fight to find an empty seat on the plane, a place in line with their kids at the amusement park, a college acceptance, or a hospital bed.
We are all aware of the gap between the rich and everyone else, but when we weren't looking, business innovators stepped in to exploit it, shifting services away from the masses and finding new ways to profit by serving the privileged. And as decision-makers and corporate leaders increasingly live on the friction-free side of the velvet rope, they are less inclined to change--or even notice--the obstacles everyone else must contend with. Schwartz's "must read" book takes us on a behind-the-scenes tour of this new reality and shows the toll the velvet rope divide takes on society.
In nearly every realm of daily life--from health care to education, highways to home security--there is an invisible velvet rope that divides how Americans live. On one side of the rope, for a price, red tape is cut, lines are jumped, appointments are secured, and doors are opened. On the other side, middle- and working-class Americans fight to find an empty seat on the plane, a place in line with their kids at the amusement park, a college acceptance, or a hospital bed.
We are all aware of the gap between the rich and everyone else, but when we weren't looking, business innovators stepped in to exploit it, shifting services away from the masses and finding new ways to profit by serving the privileged. And as decision-makers and corporate leaders increasingly live on the friction-free side of the velvet rope, they are less inclined to change--or even notice--the obstacles everyone else must contend with. Schwartz's "must read" book takes us on a behind-the-scenes tour of this new reality and shows the toll the velvet rope divide takes on society.
352 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 3, 2020
208 people are currently reading
6489 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 156 reviews
July 6, 2020
The Velvet Rope Economy shows how the ultra-wealthy can pay their way past all the inconveniences in their lives and turn every experience into a luxury. This includes not having to wait in line at amusement parks, getting box seats at sports games that allow for face time with athletes, retaining doctors on-call, donating so much money to an Ivy League school that their children are admitted, and so much more. On the surface, this book seems like a worthwhile read, but it actually left me frustrated and annoyed, and I'm going to try to articulate why.
To begin with, this book conflates two completely different things into one. Citizens of a first world country are entitled to certain things, such as access to quality health care and opportunities to have an affordable education that will lead to middle-class earnings. However, people are not entitled to skip lines, nor have access to famous athletes so they can get their ball signed, nor partake in luxurious air travel or cruises. Yet this book spends the majority of the time complaining about the latter, and only a portion of it talking about the real issues of the former.
In terms of the latter, the author just hasn't convinced me with his argument. He's essentially saying that it's bad that people can pay more to have a better experience than those who pay less, and that worsens the divide between the classes. For example, you pay more to sit in first class on an airplane, which comes with more leg room, lounge access, earlier boarding, etc. Then the people who have economy seats look with envy at those in first class, which causes the divide between the classes to expand. I don't know... that seems like many jumps to get to that conclusion. But even if true, I'm not sure how to process that.
There is an implied argument here that I'm not sure I agree with, which is that it's wrong for someone to pay more to get more. But that's the basis of any economy. If I pay for a business class ticket, of course I expect to get more service and value than if I pay for an economy class ticket. Otherwise, customers have no incentive to pay more, which then means the airlines would have no incentive to offer more. And if that was the case, the result isn't that every customer would receive first class treatment; rather, it's that the airlines would give everyone the economy treatment.
But more odious than that, the book also implies that when people pay more for something, it's because they are "rich" or otherwise privileged, and they don't deserve to be so. There is a tone of both envy and resentment that permeates this section, and it rubs me the wrong way.
I think a better question is this: is the tiered system of goods what's worsening the class divide; or is it that in our inter-connected world, where everyone can peer into everyone else's lives, envy becomes more of an issue? Because in one case, the blame is on the "rich." In the other case, the blame is on those who feels envious of others for having what they lack. But realistically, any one person can never have it all. We each have limited resources and must use those up as we see fit. For example, people with kids might see value in spending their money to fast-track the lines at an amusement park, while older and less mobile people might see value in maid service or having a nurse on call.
Unless somehow we do away with human nature or we get rid of internet and TV so that people can't see what the Joneses are up to, envy and jealousy are just part of the norm. And everyone will just have to live with the fact that others will have things which they themselves do not have, because they chose to spend their resources on other things.
Now we finally get to the part of the book where it addresses the real issues, such as the lack of good health care and quality education for the poor. But even here, the book was a disappointment. It treats each issue superficially and doesn't get to the root of the problems. For example, people with limited means generally have bad or no health insurance because it is tied to their (lack of) employment. Now, people with good private insurance from their employers are free to leave struggling hospitals for better care elsewhere. But the book misses the discussion on why this is even an issue to begin with. It's because we live in a country where a person's health insurance is based on whatever their employer wants to offer or not, versus in every other industrialized country where health insurance is uniformly provided by the government. And the book does not address this crucial point at all.
Another example of a miss is around education. The book talks about how money for field trips, teacher's aids, sports/music classes, etc. often comes from parent-led fundraisers. So in a struggling school district, parents often do not have the means to raise that kind of money. But the solution proposed in the book is that the money raised by wealthier districts should partially be given to poorer districts. That might work in an idealized world, but in this actual world, I'd bet that would be a hard sell. And what's not addressed? The reason we are even in this predicament is because recent policy changes have diverted money out of education, which then force public officials to go begging to tax payers every time they need more money to cover the shortfall. And unsurprisingly, people hardly ever want to pay more taxes on an item-by-item basis.
The book also spends a large amount of time bashing on parents who set their children up for admission into Ivy League schools by making donations, and offering their kids college-prep, tutoring, and extracurriculars. Sure, that's rather unfair, but harping on it misses other relevant points. For example, Ivy League schools are on a level of competitiveness that is unreal. They accept like 3% of the students who apply, even though every applicant probably has the academic rigor to succeed. So the schools are forced to somehow differentiate between this 4.0 GPA student they accept from these thirty other 4.0 GPA students they reject, and the only way to do so is through standards that have little to do with academic success, such as how well-spoken they are, what community service contributions they've made, and their extracurriculars. But Ivy League schools are private, and can accept/reject using whatever standards they want. The point isn't to force them to accept everybody; that would be impossible and counterproductive. It's to realize that public schools are where funding should go if we want quality education to be accessible to all.
But the book also misses the most important point of all when it comes to college education, which is that the school someone gets into is not nearly as important as what major they choose to study. In this day and age, certain majors, such as math, science, and engineering, ensure job opportunities, while others make it almost impossible to find jobs, even for an Ivy League graduate.
There is so much potential that this book could have explored, yet it focuses so much energy implying that the rich is out to game the system by paying thousands for first class tickets or the ability to cut in line at amusement parks. In the flying example, it completely glosses over the fact that air travel is now cheap enough for the masses. And to achieve this, airlines essentially had to cut every amenity and pack in as many people as possible. Sure, it's uncomfortable, but compared to the alternative of the past when flying was dignified but out of reach for everyone except the wealthiest, that isn't something I would want to change back.
I could go on and rebut almost every topic covered in this book, but taking mercy on the kind souls who actually read my reviews, I must stop. This book left me irritated and dissatisfied. It spent so much time both mooning over and whining about pointless aspirational crap, and missed a real opportunity to address the policy shortfalls in essential services that every citizen should be entitled to. By lumping the two completely disparate issues together, the book makes almost no coherent argument.
To begin with, this book conflates two completely different things into one. Citizens of a first world country are entitled to certain things, such as access to quality health care and opportunities to have an affordable education that will lead to middle-class earnings. However, people are not entitled to skip lines, nor have access to famous athletes so they can get their ball signed, nor partake in luxurious air travel or cruises. Yet this book spends the majority of the time complaining about the latter, and only a portion of it talking about the real issues of the former.
In terms of the latter, the author just hasn't convinced me with his argument. He's essentially saying that it's bad that people can pay more to have a better experience than those who pay less, and that worsens the divide between the classes. For example, you pay more to sit in first class on an airplane, which comes with more leg room, lounge access, earlier boarding, etc. Then the people who have economy seats look with envy at those in first class, which causes the divide between the classes to expand. I don't know... that seems like many jumps to get to that conclusion. But even if true, I'm not sure how to process that.
There is an implied argument here that I'm not sure I agree with, which is that it's wrong for someone to pay more to get more. But that's the basis of any economy. If I pay for a business class ticket, of course I expect to get more service and value than if I pay for an economy class ticket. Otherwise, customers have no incentive to pay more, which then means the airlines would have no incentive to offer more. And if that was the case, the result isn't that every customer would receive first class treatment; rather, it's that the airlines would give everyone the economy treatment.
But more odious than that, the book also implies that when people pay more for something, it's because they are "rich" or otherwise privileged, and they don't deserve to be so. There is a tone of both envy and resentment that permeates this section, and it rubs me the wrong way.
I think a better question is this: is the tiered system of goods what's worsening the class divide; or is it that in our inter-connected world, where everyone can peer into everyone else's lives, envy becomes more of an issue? Because in one case, the blame is on the "rich." In the other case, the blame is on those who feels envious of others for having what they lack. But realistically, any one person can never have it all. We each have limited resources and must use those up as we see fit. For example, people with kids might see value in spending their money to fast-track the lines at an amusement park, while older and less mobile people might see value in maid service or having a nurse on call.
Unless somehow we do away with human nature or we get rid of internet and TV so that people can't see what the Joneses are up to, envy and jealousy are just part of the norm. And everyone will just have to live with the fact that others will have things which they themselves do not have, because they chose to spend their resources on other things.
Now we finally get to the part of the book where it addresses the real issues, such as the lack of good health care and quality education for the poor. But even here, the book was a disappointment. It treats each issue superficially and doesn't get to the root of the problems. For example, people with limited means generally have bad or no health insurance because it is tied to their (lack of) employment. Now, people with good private insurance from their employers are free to leave struggling hospitals for better care elsewhere. But the book misses the discussion on why this is even an issue to begin with. It's because we live in a country where a person's health insurance is based on whatever their employer wants to offer or not, versus in every other industrialized country where health insurance is uniformly provided by the government. And the book does not address this crucial point at all.
Another example of a miss is around education. The book talks about how money for field trips, teacher's aids, sports/music classes, etc. often comes from parent-led fundraisers. So in a struggling school district, parents often do not have the means to raise that kind of money. But the solution proposed in the book is that the money raised by wealthier districts should partially be given to poorer districts. That might work in an idealized world, but in this actual world, I'd bet that would be a hard sell. And what's not addressed? The reason we are even in this predicament is because recent policy changes have diverted money out of education, which then force public officials to go begging to tax payers every time they need more money to cover the shortfall. And unsurprisingly, people hardly ever want to pay more taxes on an item-by-item basis.
The book also spends a large amount of time bashing on parents who set their children up for admission into Ivy League schools by making donations, and offering their kids college-prep, tutoring, and extracurriculars. Sure, that's rather unfair, but harping on it misses other relevant points. For example, Ivy League schools are on a level of competitiveness that is unreal. They accept like 3% of the students who apply, even though every applicant probably has the academic rigor to succeed. So the schools are forced to somehow differentiate between this 4.0 GPA student they accept from these thirty other 4.0 GPA students they reject, and the only way to do so is through standards that have little to do with academic success, such as how well-spoken they are, what community service contributions they've made, and their extracurriculars. But Ivy League schools are private, and can accept/reject using whatever standards they want. The point isn't to force them to accept everybody; that would be impossible and counterproductive. It's to realize that public schools are where funding should go if we want quality education to be accessible to all.
But the book also misses the most important point of all when it comes to college education, which is that the school someone gets into is not nearly as important as what major they choose to study. In this day and age, certain majors, such as math, science, and engineering, ensure job opportunities, while others make it almost impossible to find jobs, even for an Ivy League graduate.
There is so much potential that this book could have explored, yet it focuses so much energy implying that the rich is out to game the system by paying thousands for first class tickets or the ability to cut in line at amusement parks. In the flying example, it completely glosses over the fact that air travel is now cheap enough for the masses. And to achieve this, airlines essentially had to cut every amenity and pack in as many people as possible. Sure, it's uncomfortable, but compared to the alternative of the past when flying was dignified but out of reach for everyone except the wealthiest, that isn't something I would want to change back.
I could go on and rebut almost every topic covered in this book, but taking mercy on the kind souls who actually read my reviews, I must stop. This book left me irritated and dissatisfied. It spent so much time both mooning over and whining about pointless aspirational crap, and missed a real opportunity to address the policy shortfalls in essential services that every citizen should be entitled to. By lumping the two completely disparate issues together, the book makes almost no coherent argument.
March 3, 2020
"The rise of the Velvet Rope Economy marks an end to the great democratization of American life in the post-World War II era."
What is the Velvet Rope? The Velvet Rope uses class segregation to help businesses profit. Think of the fast pass systems at theme parks that only certain family groups can afford. Or the better seats at a sporting event. Or even private education. Why are businesses profiting from class segregation? How did we get here?
There are several examples for everything this book states. You will be familiar with most of them if you have lived in the U.S. for most of your life. If you have not, this might be a big eye opener. Different treatment, benefits, and price discrimination due to socioeconomic status is proven in airline services, theme parks, sporting events, health care, and education to name a few that are used as examples in this book. "It favors the people who have the money..."
The first part of the book is about the super elite that are "inside" of the Velvet Rope (5%-54% on a Kindle), and the second half is about those "outside" of the Velvet Rope (54%-83% on a Kindle). Exclusivity, social brain hypothesis, soft benefits vs. hard benefits, situational inequality, Pareto optimality, and class segregation are used to support the ideology behind the Velvet Rope Economy.
"...people will be left out of the economic system as more and more information accumulates."
It only focuses on the present and what that looks like right now. It does explain that we are headed to a caste system but goes no further.
This is a well researched book that is accessible to the average reader. Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy. Opinions are my own.
What is the Velvet Rope? The Velvet Rope uses class segregation to help businesses profit. Think of the fast pass systems at theme parks that only certain family groups can afford. Or the better seats at a sporting event. Or even private education. Why are businesses profiting from class segregation? How did we get here?
There are several examples for everything this book states. You will be familiar with most of them if you have lived in the U.S. for most of your life. If you have not, this might be a big eye opener. Different treatment, benefits, and price discrimination due to socioeconomic status is proven in airline services, theme parks, sporting events, health care, and education to name a few that are used as examples in this book. "It favors the people who have the money..."
The first part of the book is about the super elite that are "inside" of the Velvet Rope (5%-54% on a Kindle), and the second half is about those "outside" of the Velvet Rope (54%-83% on a Kindle). Exclusivity, social brain hypothesis, soft benefits vs. hard benefits, situational inequality, Pareto optimality, and class segregation are used to support the ideology behind the Velvet Rope Economy.
"...people will be left out of the economic system as more and more information accumulates."
It only focuses on the present and what that looks like right now. It does explain that we are headed to a caste system but goes no further.
This is a well researched book that is accessible to the average reader. Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy. Opinions are my own.
September 21, 2019
Thank you to NetGalley and Doubleday Books for advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. I'd thought I'd start a non-fiction book so I wasn't up too late. This ended up keeping me up! It reads smoothly, transitioning and segueing into different areas without effort. I won't say this book didn't trouble me...a lot. Just this morning we were discussing how Disney has now fallen into this and they are offering "VIP" seating for the parades, "plaid" shirt treatment for a price, etc. The book delves into how this came about and how it creeps into areas we wouldn't expect, such as medical care. I'll be thinking about this book for some time to come. Highly recommended.
January 25, 2020
First half is an entertaining anthropological look at how the 1% live. The second half is depressing.
June 9, 2021
I want everyone to read this! I admit, I was already inclined towards the author's conclusions, so I didn't read this from a completely objective point of view. I believe our country has many serious problems, and that they are interconnected in more ways than we generally know or understand. This book did a great job of showing how economic inequality is insidiously corrupting so much more than most people realize. And as the rich's world becomes more separate, and as they continue to be the ones who drive policy and systemic changes, their decisions and actions are increasingly based on their own limited experiences and the inequality in the system tips even further to the extremes.
The book starts with things that people think of when they think of the lifestyles of the rich - being able to afford FastPass or VIP tours at Disney; helicopter rides to the airport rather than sitting in traffic; elite luxury boxes at sports stadiums. But as the book goes on, it starts to incorporate things that don't seem so frivolous - how money can get you access to concierge medicine, which can mean the difference between life and death; how money can get your children access to elite college application specialists to ensure a better chance of admittance to top colleges.
And then the book pivots from what the rich DO get, towards what everyone else DOESN'T get, and this is where the information really becomes eye-opening. It's not just that the children of rich families get special tutors and bespoke assistance with college admissions; it's that public schools are struggling. It's not that the rich can afford thousands a year to have their kids join traveling sports teams; it's that in many places, sports and activities have become privatized because there's no money for public schools to offer such things to everyone on a broad basis. It's not that the rich can afford concierge medicine; it's that hospitals around the country are shutting down, particularly in rural or more at-risk areas, and so everyday Americans are left without timely access to basic healthcare, let alone elite specialists. It's not that malls that cater to the rich with super high-end stores are thriving, as are dollar stores; it's that social capital is declining for everyone between those two extremes, and food deserts are springing up as shopping and stores aimed at "everyday Americans" shut down.
Finally, the book talks about pretrial diversion programs, which I'd never even heard of, and this was the part that was most cruel in my eyes. For someone who commits a first offense, having money can mean the difference between access to pre-trial remedies like classes or community service, therefore keeping them out of the legal system and giving them a chance to move on with their lives; or getting caught in the vicious cycle of trials, fees that can't be paid, impact to earning ability which further inhibits the ability to pay fees or fines, etc., etc.
This book isn't a comfortable read, but it's an important one.
The book starts with things that people think of when they think of the lifestyles of the rich - being able to afford FastPass or VIP tours at Disney; helicopter rides to the airport rather than sitting in traffic; elite luxury boxes at sports stadiums. But as the book goes on, it starts to incorporate things that don't seem so frivolous - how money can get you access to concierge medicine, which can mean the difference between life and death; how money can get your children access to elite college application specialists to ensure a better chance of admittance to top colleges.
And then the book pivots from what the rich DO get, towards what everyone else DOESN'T get, and this is where the information really becomes eye-opening. It's not just that the children of rich families get special tutors and bespoke assistance with college admissions; it's that public schools are struggling. It's not that the rich can afford thousands a year to have their kids join traveling sports teams; it's that in many places, sports and activities have become privatized because there's no money for public schools to offer such things to everyone on a broad basis. It's not that the rich can afford concierge medicine; it's that hospitals around the country are shutting down, particularly in rural or more at-risk areas, and so everyday Americans are left without timely access to basic healthcare, let alone elite specialists. It's not that malls that cater to the rich with super high-end stores are thriving, as are dollar stores; it's that social capital is declining for everyone between those two extremes, and food deserts are springing up as shopping and stores aimed at "everyday Americans" shut down.
Finally, the book talks about pretrial diversion programs, which I'd never even heard of, and this was the part that was most cruel in my eyes. For someone who commits a first offense, having money can mean the difference between access to pre-trial remedies like classes or community service, therefore keeping them out of the legal system and giving them a chance to move on with their lives; or getting caught in the vicious cycle of trials, fees that can't be paid, impact to earning ability which further inhibits the ability to pay fees or fines, etc., etc.
This book isn't a comfortable read, but it's an important one.
July 22, 2020
This is an illuminating book about the hidden lives of the Super rich. There’s money to be made to provide velvet rope service to them.
1. Envy: special restaurants, cruise within a cruise decks for people who are willing to pay a lot more for special services. Interestingly people in the second class cabins can be inspired to want to pay more next time.
2. Exclusivity: special suites in stadiums, including tunnels where players must pass through at the best location with gourmet food and bar; no hotdogs. Problem: when teams lose nobody goes to those boxes and the stadium can look empty. Special access for music festivals,
3. Ease: frictionless private airports, lounges, limousine transfer from home to lounge and from lounge to plane. Fast pass for universal studios, VIP tours for Disney.
4. Access: Consierge medical service that helps clients jump queues to see top Doctors, and find the right clinical trials for clients who have run out of usual treatment options. Access to Ivy League with a huge donation, or coaching classes staffed by people who used to work in Admission office themselves.
5. Security: private fire fighters who only put off fires in your property, regular consultation to reduce risk of fire.
Outside the velvet rope:
Exclusion, Division, isolation: closing of rural Hospitals, grocery stores, malls. Poor and even middle class kids not able to join school sports. Anyway the best coaches are all in private sports clubs now. Public schools with lots of donations, vs others without. Cuts after cuts for public services when the rich get their own private ones.
Solution: Egalitarianism
Southwest Airlines without different classes, Green Bay Packers stadium, Brandon Dunes Golf courses. Treat everyone the same and leave some money on the table.
Of course consumers need to support these firms as well for this to work.
1. Envy: special restaurants, cruise within a cruise decks for people who are willing to pay a lot more for special services. Interestingly people in the second class cabins can be inspired to want to pay more next time.
2. Exclusivity: special suites in stadiums, including tunnels where players must pass through at the best location with gourmet food and bar; no hotdogs. Problem: when teams lose nobody goes to those boxes and the stadium can look empty. Special access for music festivals,
3. Ease: frictionless private airports, lounges, limousine transfer from home to lounge and from lounge to plane. Fast pass for universal studios, VIP tours for Disney.
4. Access: Consierge medical service that helps clients jump queues to see top Doctors, and find the right clinical trials for clients who have run out of usual treatment options. Access to Ivy League with a huge donation, or coaching classes staffed by people who used to work in Admission office themselves.
5. Security: private fire fighters who only put off fires in your property, regular consultation to reduce risk of fire.
Outside the velvet rope:
Exclusion, Division, isolation: closing of rural Hospitals, grocery stores, malls. Poor and even middle class kids not able to join school sports. Anyway the best coaches are all in private sports clubs now. Public schools with lots of donations, vs others without. Cuts after cuts for public services when the rich get their own private ones.
Solution: Egalitarianism
Southwest Airlines without different classes, Green Bay Packers stadium, Brandon Dunes Golf courses. Treat everyone the same and leave some money on the table.
Of course consumers need to support these firms as well for this to work.
December 4, 2019
The Velvet Rope Economy is a shocking exposé of our continually splintering economy and value system. Schwartz skillfully navigates the playground of the super-rich and their long list of premium experiences from VIP amusement park tours and luxury sports arena boxes to better access to hospitals and educational opportunities. The real-life examples and statistics he reveals invoke a wide range of emotions from bewilderment and envy to anger, disgust, disappointment and even fear. As one very small segment of the population keeps piling on wealth, the middle class struggles harder, becoming more isolated, excluded and fractured. An eye-opening wake up call that something needs to be done to stop the class segmentation before it truly divides us all. Highly recommend.
August 3, 2020
There has always been an upper class in America. It's unavoidable in any large industrialized nation. In my youth we had private country clubs and resorts, but now things have gotten much more stratified. Income inequality has risen in the past 50 years and those at the top have many more resources at their disposal. Businesses have seen where the growth is, and found lucrative and innovative new ways to cater to the super-rich.
The problem, as detailed in this eye-opening book by Nelson Schwartz, is that the rich are creating an entirely separate world for themselves, to such an extent that their ideas and decisions, the ones that affect the rest of us, are based on their limited experiences, and not ours. When once the rich traveled the same roads, went to the same stores, and rode the same airplanes as we did, there were some shared experiences that created social bonds. Now the rich increasingly have privatized everything, with the result that the rest of us are left with a neglected public arena of crumbling schools, infrastructure, health care, and public services.
Schwartz looks at both sides of the velvet rope that increasingly divides us. He takes us on board a cruise ship to show how envy is being utilized to drive aspirational spending, with special restaurants off-limits to all but the richest passengers. Companies are creating special experiences for those who can afford it, and the rest of us get to look in the window and dream that someday we could have that too. The problem is that most of us will never have that kind of money, and at some point malicious envy takes over and threatens to take down the entire system.
The author takes us on a tour of Yankee Stadium and its new luxury suites, and the drive to provide exclusivity to the richest fans. Stadiums all over America have been re-imagined to include new suites and exclusive foods for the richest of the rich. Regular fans aren't even allowed to come near the field for photos or autographs. Even worse, even the opportunity to buy tickets has been monetized with the advent of personal seat licenses- huge fees for the "rights" to buy tickets to see your favorite sports team.
I identified with this part the most as I've seen huge changes with the St. Louis Cardinals stadiums. In the old stadium, tickets were affordable and suites were limited to one nosebleed section up high. In the new stadium that opened in 2007, suites are everywhere and all-inclusive with food and drinks. But instead of tickets costing $10-$20, now the suite tickets go for $100- $500 per seat per game. I had to give up my season tickets because of the costs, which now are inflated for weekends and series with close rivals like the Chicago Cubs. It's entirely possible to go to a game now and barely even notice what goes on down on the field- the amenities in the suites are that much better.
Schwartz takes a look at the theme park business, another one close to my heart, and shows how those who want to lay out the big bucks can have much better experiences than the rest of us. VIP tours costing $400-$600 and hour get you exclusive access and front of the line treatment. Express passes cost extra, but they mean separate lines, one for the hot, sweaty poor people who have to wait an hour or more, and one for the elite, who breeze right through and onto the rides and shows.
The book takes a look at concierge medicine, where more and more doctors are giving up private practice for this expensive alternative where fewer patients are being seen but given more access to the doctors and best research. Getting appointments with specialists these days can take months, and in cases like cancer where time is critical, timely appointments can mean life or death. With the concierge system and the right connections, the wealthy can get in with specialists in a much shorter time period.
There is a group known as Ivy Wise that helps high school students prepare for they competitive application process for the best schools. If you have the money, they will use their extensive expertise from a pool of ex-admissions officials to tell you exactly what the schools are looking for that year and how best to get your child admitted. No need to go the Laurie Laughlin route of bribing coaches. Or you can take the Jared Kushner way and have your parents donate millions to a school and then they will take you in, even with mediocre grades.
On the other side of the velvet rope, the book examines how public schools are struggling. Not only are academics struggling, but sports and activities have become privatized with the advent of club teams and activity fees. Where once participation in teams was open to all with the desire and ability, now school sports are highly stratified with middle-class parents struggling to figure out how to pay heavy fees so that their kid can be on a team, in band, or even go on a field trip. The wealthy can supplement their school's offerings through generous PTA donations, which the richest public schools utilize on top of their budget. Mind you, this is for public school systems- don't forget that the rich have a large system of private schools that provide superior teachers, class sizes, and facilities.
Schwartz takes a much needed look at the world of shopping and malls. While many middle-class department stores like Sears, Penneys, and Macy's are struggling, malls that cater to the rich are doing quite well, as are dollar stores. With the decline of malls comes a decline in social capital and community feel as shoppers mingle less and less. Dollar stores are a big threat in smaller communities because their cheap prices undercut those of local grocery stores. (With the main problem being that all food at dollar stores is packaged and processed- no fresh produce or meat.) Dollar stores have half the employees as grocery stores and give very little back to the communities in which they operate.
He also takes a look at the restaurant industry, and how moderately priced chains like Ruby Tuesday have suffered since the great recession of 2008 when their customers switched down to fast food. Moderate chains like IHOP, Cracker Barrel, Applebees, are all hurting while higher priced restaurants like Ruths Chris Steakhouse is thriving. We are headed towards a world where McDonalds and Five-Star reservation-only restaurants are the only options.
The book details something I'd never heard of called the pretrial diversion program, where justice is basically for sale. For those who can afford to pay, trials are called off and remedies are assessed such as community service or classes. Much has been written about the unfairness of our legal system, and the velvet rope economy runs through jails as well.
Unless you are lucky enough to be in the 1%, this book is a depressing read. We all know the rich get special treatment, but this book shows how coddled they truly are. If you are one of the lucky few, you get the best doctors, schools, neighborhoods, stores, and vacation spots- where everybody caters to you and never tells you anything bad. You can get private fire protection for your mountain home, private airplanes and helicopters to avoid traffic and TSA screenings, exclusive seats for music and sporting events where there are no lines for anything, and for enough money you can hobnob with celebrities and politicians. My God, no wonder these people become so out of touch with reality. This kind of imbalance often doesn't end well- only a major depression or revolution shakes up a system like this. Certainly the 1% will never voluntarily give up their privileged status.
Luckily the final chapter tries to go into the few areas where there is still resistance to the velvet rope economy. Schwartz highlights Southwest Airlines, where all passengers are treated roughly the same. He heaps praise on the Green Bay Packers, a football team in a small market that has resisted the mania for expensive suites that sap the fun out of games and fans. There are some hopeful spots the author points out, but the trend definitely seems to be headed the other way.
This book is a good step towards recognizing what we're losing when the public space is being privatized for profit with the wealthiest 1% being the primary beneficiary. Capitalism exists with the consent of the people doing the buying, selling, and creating. If people took more time to think about what we're willing to give up by letting the velvet rope divide us, perhaps there would be fewer ropes and more community. Only when the 99% can see hope that their world is getting better does having a velvet rope make sense. When things are falling apart like they are today, visions of Ivanka Trump and Marie Antoinette show a elite on a precarious perch.
March 6, 2020
Schwartz is having a mid-life crisis. Mommy used to buy him candies when he wanted to. Than mommy got him to a good school. Later mommy helped him get college education so he won't feel stupid when meeting his school friends. Mommy used to get him food and clothing. And now, as an adult Schwartz notices there are so many things mommy can't get him and that is UNFAIR! After all, he is as good as his peers, mommy said.
August 19, 2020
covered inequality in the spaces of: theme parks, sports, travel, healthcare, education, retail (malls, grocery stores) and restaurants.
made me realise that when people can pay to make problems disappear (e.g. pay for private school if public schools suck), there is less incentive to invest in solving the actual problems (e.g. more resources for schools)
my takeaway - public goods should not be run like businesses.
made me realise that when people can pay to make problems disappear (e.g. pay for private school if public schools suck), there is less incentive to invest in solving the actual problems (e.g. more resources for schools)
my takeaway - public goods should not be run like businesses.
July 7, 2024
Interesting book that built a compelling case for how special privileges for the elite lead to increased social stratification and harm the middle and working class. However, I think the author failed to present a compelling solution to the velvet rope issue that didn’t rely almost exclusively on individual altruism. I would’ve been interested in fewer velvet rope examples and more concrete policy examples and solutions.
December 18, 2020
This is a well-written, well-researched book about what I consider to be the greatest challenge facing both American democracy and American society - income and wealth inequality.
There have always been rich and poor, but never on the current scale. And, more importantly, the class system used on the Titanic, which the author discusses, has never bought you more empowerment, from standing in line (or not), to how fast you can travel from point A to point B, to the quality of your child’s education in PUBLIC schools, to your treatment by most, but not all, of the companies in the service economy.
Schwartz covers the most obvious examples and provides the most apparent explanations (e.g. airline classes, premium queues that shorten your wait time, luxury arena boxes, helicopter rides to the airport, etc.) There are, however, two areas that I believe are also important but have been partially overlooked.
The first is that while income and wealth inequity explain a lot about which side of the velvet rope you occupy, power is the real driver. And while income and wealth buy power every minute of every day it goes beyond that. When you look at the people sitting in those extreme-luxury boxes on Super Bowl Sunday you can assume that almost none of them actually paid for the right to be there. Most are guests. And even the owners seldom pay for their velvet rope rights. The institutions they have power over did.
And while you may argue that is really their money given that they have gained that power, institutions have many constituencies. The money that went into the luxury box can’t be used to pay the lowest wage earners a living wage. It can’t be used to give to charity or otherwise invest in the local community that gives so much to the institution that the box owner has power over. And it can’t be used to give the institution’s ultimate customer a better product or service at a better price.
The second point is that a lot of velvet touch is actually paid for by the average taxpayer. Direct tax write-offs of luxury box seats and amenities are admittedly harder and harder to come by. But the whole concept of the velvet rope economy is built on the debate of equal opportunities versus equal outcomes that is at the heart of our current political and social struggles.
It is a false debate and always has been. Have tech billionaires “earned” their way to riches of $100 billion or more? The answer is not digital, of course, if you will excuse the pun. Who educated their workers? Who provides the roads that their workers take to work? The fire and police protection they enjoy? The military that guards our borders and allows our democracy to even exist? Not to mention, of course, a lot of core research that is at the heart of their wealth. Silicon Valley did not invent the internet or the GPS infrastructure on which a lot of technology is built. The American taxpayer did and does.
I think the most important point Schwartz makes is that our evolution into an “I” versus “we” society allows the wealthiest among us to shop social services on an a la carte basis. I might pay a lot of money to the local PTA so that my child can play sports or learn a musical instrument but that model conveniently allows me not to pay for another person’s child to enjoy the same privilege. That is the fundamental choice that privatization provides. (“There’s an ethos of me over we.”)
We talk about the problem in terms of onerous taxes and the mythical belief that everyone has the same opportunity economically, but it is really a debate over individualism versus collectivism.
The lesson we must learn is that life is not digital. It’s a continuum. Optimization is all about balance. Yes, how much wealth we accumulate should be based on how hard we work and how clever we are. But it should be based on more than that. How much has our hard work and cleverness contributed to the society we are a part of and who we benefit from. Has anyone on the planet contributed $100 billion of value to society? I think not.
This book could not be timelier. The polarization is actually accelerating, believe it or not. And if history has taught us anythhing it is that there is a tipping point at which those on the outside of the rope have finally had enough. And the people on the inside of the rope almost never see it coming.
There have always been rich and poor, but never on the current scale. And, more importantly, the class system used on the Titanic, which the author discusses, has never bought you more empowerment, from standing in line (or not), to how fast you can travel from point A to point B, to the quality of your child’s education in PUBLIC schools, to your treatment by most, but not all, of the companies in the service economy.
Schwartz covers the most obvious examples and provides the most apparent explanations (e.g. airline classes, premium queues that shorten your wait time, luxury arena boxes, helicopter rides to the airport, etc.) There are, however, two areas that I believe are also important but have been partially overlooked.
The first is that while income and wealth inequity explain a lot about which side of the velvet rope you occupy, power is the real driver. And while income and wealth buy power every minute of every day it goes beyond that. When you look at the people sitting in those extreme-luxury boxes on Super Bowl Sunday you can assume that almost none of them actually paid for the right to be there. Most are guests. And even the owners seldom pay for their velvet rope rights. The institutions they have power over did.
And while you may argue that is really their money given that they have gained that power, institutions have many constituencies. The money that went into the luxury box can’t be used to pay the lowest wage earners a living wage. It can’t be used to give to charity or otherwise invest in the local community that gives so much to the institution that the box owner has power over. And it can’t be used to give the institution’s ultimate customer a better product or service at a better price.
The second point is that a lot of velvet touch is actually paid for by the average taxpayer. Direct tax write-offs of luxury box seats and amenities are admittedly harder and harder to come by. But the whole concept of the velvet rope economy is built on the debate of equal opportunities versus equal outcomes that is at the heart of our current political and social struggles.
It is a false debate and always has been. Have tech billionaires “earned” their way to riches of $100 billion or more? The answer is not digital, of course, if you will excuse the pun. Who educated their workers? Who provides the roads that their workers take to work? The fire and police protection they enjoy? The military that guards our borders and allows our democracy to even exist? Not to mention, of course, a lot of core research that is at the heart of their wealth. Silicon Valley did not invent the internet or the GPS infrastructure on which a lot of technology is built. The American taxpayer did and does.
I think the most important point Schwartz makes is that our evolution into an “I” versus “we” society allows the wealthiest among us to shop social services on an a la carte basis. I might pay a lot of money to the local PTA so that my child can play sports or learn a musical instrument but that model conveniently allows me not to pay for another person’s child to enjoy the same privilege. That is the fundamental choice that privatization provides. (“There’s an ethos of me over we.”)
We talk about the problem in terms of onerous taxes and the mythical belief that everyone has the same opportunity economically, but it is really a debate over individualism versus collectivism.
The lesson we must learn is that life is not digital. It’s a continuum. Optimization is all about balance. Yes, how much wealth we accumulate should be based on how hard we work and how clever we are. But it should be based on more than that. How much has our hard work and cleverness contributed to the society we are a part of and who we benefit from. Has anyone on the planet contributed $100 billion of value to society? I think not.
This book could not be timelier. The polarization is actually accelerating, believe it or not. And if history has taught us anythhing it is that there is a tipping point at which those on the outside of the rope have finally had enough. And the people on the inside of the rope almost never see it coming.
November 18, 2019
Excellent book!!!
September 24, 2020
Lots to ponder with this one. Our society is fracturing in so many ways. We know this instinctively, yet seeing this laid out so starkly, across so many critical elements of American life, really set my teeth on edge. It’s not Schwartz’s fault - the writing is compelling and engaging - it’s just so damn frustrating to see how eroded our common life has become. Businesses did this to us, but we let them. I’m as complicit as anyone. I admit it: those little extra perks feel awesome, and we justify it by paying for it.
But at what cost? I mean that quite literally. Especially in this current moment, as summer tips into autumn in 2020, I can see that hollowing out the middle class and punishing the poor has cost our society too much.
But at what cost? I mean that quite literally. Especially in this current moment, as summer tips into autumn in 2020, I can see that hollowing out the middle class and punishing the poor has cost our society too much.
July 10, 2020
This was a painful read for me, not because of the writing—which is very good—but because of the sobering affirmation of what I suspected about the income gap and expanding menu of privileges the rich can pay to access.
In this book, Schwartz explicates the ways in which the wealthy live smoother, easier, longer lives with less “friction” from the inconveniences and sacrifices that the rest of us know as life. From travel (Did you know that airports are adding private entrances and special security screening areas for the rich? No TSA yelling at them for forgotten bags of food in their carry ons?), to education (duh!) to healthcare, arenas we once thought were egalitarian are being exploited to give those who can pay better care, better service, safer lives than everyone else.
For anyone who has given side-eye to the entitled 1-10% ers who cut in line, drive alone in the HOV lane, board the plane first, and fill the private suites at the game, this book will confirm your suspicions. But it might also reaffirm that you are not alone in living life with inconvenience and friction. In fact, it might be what makes us better people.
In this book, Schwartz explicates the ways in which the wealthy live smoother, easier, longer lives with less “friction” from the inconveniences and sacrifices that the rest of us know as life. From travel (Did you know that airports are adding private entrances and special security screening areas for the rich? No TSA yelling at them for forgotten bags of food in their carry ons?), to education (duh!) to healthcare, arenas we once thought were egalitarian are being exploited to give those who can pay better care, better service, safer lives than everyone else.
For anyone who has given side-eye to the entitled 1-10% ers who cut in line, drive alone in the HOV lane, board the plane first, and fill the private suites at the game, this book will confirm your suspicions. But it might also reaffirm that you are not alone in living life with inconvenience and friction. In fact, it might be what makes us better people.
December 25, 2020
From interesting to disturbing to depressing, a good read.
April 20, 2025
Cross Veblen with Piketty, add in some end-stage capitalism effects for the haves and have-nots, and stir in a healthy dose of readability for the economics layperson, and you get this book. Really well done.
May 22, 2022
I think this book addresses a legitimate issue that needs to be dealt with, but his approach is wonky. The US is a country where some high schools are essentially "owned" by the local gangs, and where some kids can look around their high school classroom knowing that the odds are one in eight of their male classmates will be dead within the next decade. These kids are trapped in horrible, horrible school systems, and a lot of them just plain want out. But instead of talking about those problems, or about the fact that school systems are spending way more per kid nowadays but are provided a worse education (primarily because the bureaucrat to teacher rate has risen so high that in some systems more people are employed by the bureaucracy than actually teach the students!), Schwartz talks about how the PTAs of the poorer school have a hard time raising as much money as the PTAs in richer neighborhoods.
His solution is to spread the money out more evenly. But money is not going to solve a lot of these problems, particularly where the public school system is just flat corrupt. How about we give kids and parents a lot more power in choosing which school they send their kids to? How about we give kids the right to go to any public school within their city, or county, or state? Or any school within 50 miles of their home? How about we offer more vouchers? How about we integrate the public schools by income the way we did by race? How about we find ways to actually empower students and their families by giving them meaningful choices?
He also doesn't really point out that most of those big stadiums with their private boxes were partially funded with taxpayer money. The Yankee Stadium, for example, was built with $1.2 billion in public subsidies, mostly from the city, but some from the state and the feds. The high ticket prices and empty seats were doubly offensive to some for that reason -- "I helped pay for it and then I couldn't afford the tickets anymore!" It isn't just pure envy driving some of people's resentment -- it's the knowledge that many perks of the rich are subsidized by the poor and middle class, which I don't think Schwartz recognizes sufficiently.
One thing I did like about the book was his discussion of the two kinds of envy; the envy that most people think of, which is purely negative and at its worst wants to tear people down even at cost to oneself; versus the "aspirational" envy where someone wants what another person has but uses that want as a motivation to earn more so they can have it, too. I'd not run across that division before and it makes sense to me.
Still, while I do think Schwartz is pointing out a legit problem, and I was not aware of how deep the problem goes, I don't think much of his solutions, and I don't think he's recognizing how many deeper and worse problems are behind the problem he's pointing out. The US has long had an underclass that felt trapped and helpless and like nobody in the government cares, and the government has been a part of creating that via bad schooling and refusing to allow people in those communities better options.
Now I'd say big business and the government both seem more interested in catering to the upper middle class than to the average Joe, let alone the truly poor. Worse, they're teaming up to soak the middle class to the benefit of the rich, which I see as the worst part of the scandal, and which I thought Schwartz underplayed when he discussed issues I'd already researched somewhat.
His solution is to spread the money out more evenly. But money is not going to solve a lot of these problems, particularly where the public school system is just flat corrupt. How about we give kids and parents a lot more power in choosing which school they send their kids to? How about we give kids the right to go to any public school within their city, or county, or state? Or any school within 50 miles of their home? How about we offer more vouchers? How about we integrate the public schools by income the way we did by race? How about we find ways to actually empower students and their families by giving them meaningful choices?
He also doesn't really point out that most of those big stadiums with their private boxes were partially funded with taxpayer money. The Yankee Stadium, for example, was built with $1.2 billion in public subsidies, mostly from the city, but some from the state and the feds. The high ticket prices and empty seats were doubly offensive to some for that reason -- "I helped pay for it and then I couldn't afford the tickets anymore!" It isn't just pure envy driving some of people's resentment -- it's the knowledge that many perks of the rich are subsidized by the poor and middle class, which I don't think Schwartz recognizes sufficiently.
One thing I did like about the book was his discussion of the two kinds of envy; the envy that most people think of, which is purely negative and at its worst wants to tear people down even at cost to oneself; versus the "aspirational" envy where someone wants what another person has but uses that want as a motivation to earn more so they can have it, too. I'd not run across that division before and it makes sense to me.
Still, while I do think Schwartz is pointing out a legit problem, and I was not aware of how deep the problem goes, I don't think much of his solutions, and I don't think he's recognizing how many deeper and worse problems are behind the problem he's pointing out. The US has long had an underclass that felt trapped and helpless and like nobody in the government cares, and the government has been a part of creating that via bad schooling and refusing to allow people in those communities better options.
Now I'd say big business and the government both seem more interested in catering to the upper middle class than to the average Joe, let alone the truly poor. Worse, they're teaming up to soak the middle class to the benefit of the rich, which I see as the worst part of the scandal, and which I thought Schwartz underplayed when he discussed issues I'd already researched somewhat.
February 23, 2020
Most of the information in the book you probably already know, such as that if you pay extra you can get personalized guided tours of Disneyland and that one of the reasons airlines make economy class so uncomfortable is to encourage you to pay to upgrade. But there were a few things I didn't know such as that public schools now charge students to be on the school teams, and there may even be a charge to try out for a team. So one of the ways that a kid used to be able to break out of poverty, even if it was long odds, was to be good at sports and maybe get a college scholarship. Now kids from families without extra cash for team fees in high school may be locked out of that opportunity, which seems outrageously unfair. Maybe socialism isn't such a bad idea after all.
April 5, 2020
Important but somewhat depressing book. As I read this during the "shelter in place" I can't help but think that the divide between the haves and have-nots will only widen when we emerge from this pandemic and leadership void. If we, as Americans, want real change, we must understand that this velvet rope economy is real and that we must elect leaders who will address wealth inequality once and for all.
February 22, 2020
Interesting account of the "velvet rope" separating the haves and have-nots in the economy. While elites get special access to education, sporting events, travel, etc., others face a lack of access in health care, education, shopping and community. The author ends the book of suggestions of alternatives to the growing catering to the rich and the possibility of a more egalitarian society.
March 23, 2021
Although based on the situation in the US, The Velvet Rope Economy holds lessons for any capitalist country, including Singapore.
It exposes the way businesses increasingly cater to the rich (and very rich), while leaving scraps for the middle class. We take it for granted that there's 1st class, business class and economy class on airlines. But even in public services like health and education, we see the velvet rope economy at work. For those who can afford it, there's personalised healthcare which can unlock doors to the best doctors, less waiting time and experimental treatments. In education, those who can afford it have better school facilities and teaching support, not to mention being able to afford higher education.
For the rich, it's about Envy, Exclusivity, Ease and Access. For the rest, there's Exclusion, Division and Isolation.
As the rich enjoy their luxuries, they are less able to empathise with the challenges the rest face. There's reduced social mixing, so they don't have friends or acquaintances who can enlighten them about what's on the other side of the velvet rope. What that means is less support among the rich for increased taxes and investment in public services. And since the rich dominate the halls of power, they have an outsized influenced on government policy.
What that means is a positive feedback loop of increasing inequality. Without the opportunities to build social capital, without access to good healthcare and education, the middle class is increasingly left behind as the rich get richer.
But there's a breaking point. If this continues, there will be social collapse. Already we see this resentment with the status quo fuelling the rise of populist leaders.
What's needed is a multi-pronged approach centered on egalitarian values. Businesses like Southwest Airlines and Green Bay Packers have shown that one can be profitable while giving a good experience to all. Political leaders need to recognise that increasing social tensions will lead to their downfall. And at the societal level, more can be done to expose the inequalities and increase social mixing so the rich can empathise with the rest. As consumers, we can choose to support businesses which have egalitarian values and also support local businesses. Local businesses (as opposed to large chains) tend to foster stronger social connections.
Values like Envy should be downplayed - that means challenging advertising and media reports that evoke envy. On the other hand, values like Inclusivity and Equity should be celebrated, for example, showing how Ease and Access is provided for all.
How can Capitalism be a force for uplifting everyone in society? Where do we find a balance between Capitalism and Communism? More questions to explore...
It exposes the way businesses increasingly cater to the rich (and very rich), while leaving scraps for the middle class. We take it for granted that there's 1st class, business class and economy class on airlines. But even in public services like health and education, we see the velvet rope economy at work. For those who can afford it, there's personalised healthcare which can unlock doors to the best doctors, less waiting time and experimental treatments. In education, those who can afford it have better school facilities and teaching support, not to mention being able to afford higher education.
For the rich, it's about Envy, Exclusivity, Ease and Access. For the rest, there's Exclusion, Division and Isolation.
As the rich enjoy their luxuries, they are less able to empathise with the challenges the rest face. There's reduced social mixing, so they don't have friends or acquaintances who can enlighten them about what's on the other side of the velvet rope. What that means is less support among the rich for increased taxes and investment in public services. And since the rich dominate the halls of power, they have an outsized influenced on government policy.
What that means is a positive feedback loop of increasing inequality. Without the opportunities to build social capital, without access to good healthcare and education, the middle class is increasingly left behind as the rich get richer.
But there's a breaking point. If this continues, there will be social collapse. Already we see this resentment with the status quo fuelling the rise of populist leaders.
What's needed is a multi-pronged approach centered on egalitarian values. Businesses like Southwest Airlines and Green Bay Packers have shown that one can be profitable while giving a good experience to all. Political leaders need to recognise that increasing social tensions will lead to their downfall. And at the societal level, more can be done to expose the inequalities and increase social mixing so the rich can empathise with the rest. As consumers, we can choose to support businesses which have egalitarian values and also support local businesses. Local businesses (as opposed to large chains) tend to foster stronger social connections.
Values like Envy should be downplayed - that means challenging advertising and media reports that evoke envy. On the other hand, values like Inclusivity and Equity should be celebrated, for example, showing how Ease and Access is provided for all.
How can Capitalism be a force for uplifting everyone in society? Where do we find a balance between Capitalism and Communism? More questions to explore...
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 23, 2020
The Velvet Rope Economy: How Inequality Became Big Business by Nelson D. Schwartz is somewhat reminiscent of the syndicated TV show, Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous; it provides an insider’s look at the access and privilege that wealth affords in modern day America. Schwartz loosely defines a velvet rope as figurative barrier with relative ease, efficiency and luxury on one side and hardship, struggle and latency on the other. The principal tenet of The Velvet Rope Economy is that the modern velvet rope prevents the rich from even encountering the less-well off thus eliminating their empathy towards them. The Velvet Rope Economy is written in two parts. The first part of the book describes life inside the velvet rope and the second part outside. While most of the elements inside the velvet rope, first class travel accommodations, skipping the line at theme parks and express lanes on the highway, are perhaps unfair at best, Schwartz highlights a damming consequence of the velvet rope: exclusive access to physicians in public hospitals. While it is unclear that money is exchanged in this arrangement, one detail is certain. Doctors are willing and eager participants in ensuring that the well-to-do receive preferential treatment. The Velvet Rope Economy loses steam in the second half of the book. Schwartz seems to run out of material here and the space would be better served either providing a historical perspective on the velvet rope or engaging academics and policy thinkers on the issue. The Velvet Rope Economy is worth a read and presents an eye-opening account of inequality in America today.
February 25, 2021
This book has information about how different businesses make it a money making part of their business to have certain parts of their services or products cater to the people who have a lot of money, and other parts cater to people who don't. They discuss the consequences of that phenomenon and what kinds of social climate may or already do occur. The industries that come to mind are, restaurants and hotels, sports stadiums, travel, (freeways and airlines) schools at all levels, and the medical industry, among others. I found it to be interesting. The writing is good and easy to understand. There is no propaganda like feel to the book. The social consequences that occur are a bit lightly touched on but they are mentioned. Maybe they are not so varied. the one that comes to mind is that the people with money in cases don't even have to see the experiences of the people without, so they have no idea how the ones without are held back timewise, education wise, and in their health. I noticed that the current of logic held with me, even though I am not one who has a lot of money, that it makes sense that the 'haves' should be able to buy whatever they want. However, when pointed out, the plight of people who can't afford a so described 'concierge' health care, sometimes pay with their lives. It is told in a matter of fact way though so it doesn't get your blood boiling, which I considered a plus.
February 23, 2021
This book is one part lurid, real life tale of the lives of the super wealthy, one part social commentary about how our social stratification and willingness to provide the elite with separate, expensive experiences cheapens the overall community in our country. I thought it was a fascinating, though not entirely revolutionary take on how we are building a society that favors separation - preventing those with power and means from understanding (and working to solve) “normal” human problems - from traffic to airport crowding, to public health.
While my favorite part of the book was certainly the stories from behind the velvet rope about worlds I have never seen and can only imagine, the book did make me reflect on my own experience with my own velvet ropes (first class on airplanes, TSA pre check, occasionally paying more to use a toll lane) and what unintended consequences those experiences and choices may have on our overall community.
While my favorite part of the book was certainly the stories from behind the velvet rope about worlds I have never seen and can only imagine, the book did make me reflect on my own experience with my own velvet ropes (first class on airplanes, TSA pre check, occasionally paying more to use a toll lane) and what unintended consequences those experiences and choices may have on our overall community.
August 22, 2021
3.99 stars.
Money can’t buy you happiness but it apparently can buy you ease, convenience, stability, entertainment, education, health care, prominence, and justice.
I really liked this book and how it looked at the ever growing movement of businesses and public entities to create stratified products and services catering primarily to the ultra wealthy while under serving anyone who can’t afford to pay. The author effectively discussing things from frivolous entertainment all the that through the justice and health care systems that have and continue to segment their customer base and prioritize service for those who will pay more.
I don’t necessarily think the thesis that people who can afford to pay more shouldn’t get more, but as the author explores the topic further, it’s clear that those who CANNOT afford to it get (sometimes dramatically) worse or no service compared to those who pay. In places like sports stadiums or concert venues, I’m less concerned about this. But in schools, hospitals, courts, and employment spaces…this move entrenches the ever widening gap between the rich and everybody else in North American society.
As such, I found this book engaging and extremely enlightening. I’d likely not read this again but will recommend and reference it regularly moving forward.
Money can’t buy you happiness but it apparently can buy you ease, convenience, stability, entertainment, education, health care, prominence, and justice.
I really liked this book and how it looked at the ever growing movement of businesses and public entities to create stratified products and services catering primarily to the ultra wealthy while under serving anyone who can’t afford to pay. The author effectively discussing things from frivolous entertainment all the that through the justice and health care systems that have and continue to segment their customer base and prioritize service for those who will pay more.
I don’t necessarily think the thesis that people who can afford to pay more shouldn’t get more, but as the author explores the topic further, it’s clear that those who CANNOT afford to it get (sometimes dramatically) worse or no service compared to those who pay. In places like sports stadiums or concert venues, I’m less concerned about this. But in schools, hospitals, courts, and employment spaces…this move entrenches the ever widening gap between the rich and everybody else in North American society.
As such, I found this book engaging and extremely enlightening. I’d likely not read this again but will recommend and reference it regularly moving forward.
January 16, 2023
This book was very thought provoking. I enjoyed the sections describing the VIP experiences available at modern sporting venues or on cruise ships. I love the ingenuity from these business to find ways to appeal to the high-dollar clients.
I work in public transit, and we are exploring funding alternatives for our operational budget. It was fascinating to read this book thinking about how we fund elements of our community that are used or that directly benefit certain populations over others.
There is also a big conversation going on in Iowa right now about funding for public school, so I apprecited the additional context this book provided around those challenging and changing circumstances.
I almost wish Mr. Schwartz would've taken more of a stance in this book. He did a great job of laying out the landscape of the issues, but didn't go very far into saying what he thought about it all.
I work in public transit, and we are exploring funding alternatives for our operational budget. It was fascinating to read this book thinking about how we fund elements of our community that are used or that directly benefit certain populations over others.
There is also a big conversation going on in Iowa right now about funding for public school, so I apprecited the additional context this book provided around those challenging and changing circumstances.
I almost wish Mr. Schwartz would've taken more of a stance in this book. He did a great job of laying out the landscape of the issues, but didn't go very far into saying what he thought about it all.
August 9, 2020
The Velvet Rope Economy: How Inequality Became Big Business is a thought-provoking, elegiac analysis of the shifting economic hierarchy that characterizes modern American society. Contrary to some reviews which describe the book as a simplistic rant against the wealthy, it examines the extreme commodification of our experiences by a laissez-faire system gone amok and the diminishing sense that society is important and might matter as much as the individual. Our world, then, has been reworked to SHIELD the well-heeled from the hoi polloi, and policies and theories around the importance of democratization are thereby rendered quaint. The book was published just at the onset of the global pandemic which has ruthlessly accelerated this economic segmentation. I highly recommend this book for a sense of not only where we are but also what we have lost.
April 27, 2021
This book was very insightful. There are so many layers in our society that remain hidden if we don’t deconstruct and analyze them. This is what Schwartz did with his book, he looked inside the non-obvious, inside the real questions to answer. It is true that even if we all humans live in the same world, sometimes it seems we live in different ones. The difference between the quality-of-life people have varies greatly even in the same neighborhood. It’s time to rethink the way we are creating opportunities for those in need, and how we can encourage mobility across social classes.
February 7, 2021
A fascinating look at the ways that inequality is manifesting in society. The book explores the difference between the VIP experience versus a true inequality that puts people’s health or future at risk. The book points a way forward that democratizes experience, pulling in examples like Southwest Airlines.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 156 reviews