Superzips

I've been reading the Charles Murray book on Coming Apart, and I heard about the recent story in the Post about the superzip phenom he describes. It's an interesting thesis. And yes, I fall squarely in the category of middle class raised/upper middle ascending. We aren't in a superzip in 20002, but I'm sure with the streetcar, the Whole Foods coming, the spate of new theaters and condos, we'll be there soon enough. H Street has jumped the shark. It's gentrified now, and that demographic will follow.

And yeah, there's an uneasiness about all of this. Kids who are second or third generation with this privilege will never know a childhood like one in Detroit, or south Texas (the Post story on junk food in McAllen, example). I still feel like we're squarely middle class, despite the size of our mortgage. We aren't extravagant people, we don't splurge on $300 boots or $200 meals every weekend. But any weekend? Yeah, just because you can afford it, it doesn't mean anything.

Values don't come from the size of your paycheck, but the paycheck may determine how entitled you feel. And once you get away from never taking anything for granted, that is when values diverge. And the next generation gets away from you.