This was essentially the thesis of Thomas Piketty's Capital
or some of the broader themes
and the higher earners, they spend more, but they aren't FORCED to spend which is another takeaway.
compared to the other half on here, I live lavishly. but even friends who make "good money" in somewhere in SD, getting tighter. Gas prices. Food prices. Rent increases. It's tightened people's budgets up.