The Status Game

I write about a lot of different topics on my blog--the bubble in higher education, people living beyond their means, the superiority of blue collar jobs, etc. But all of these topics have a common thread, and that thread is called "status."

Author Tom Wolfe says that status is what it is all about--getting it, keeping it, and eventually losing it. Everyone is motivated by status, and it figures prominently in Wolfe's novels such as Bonfire of the Vanities and A Man in Full. Status produces a lot of drama and with it, a lot of misery.

The higher ed bubble is a case in point. We have parents and kids focused on getting that piece of paper. Tuition is skyrocekting. Debt burdens graduates. There are not enough jobs to justify the expense. It is a waste. But parents and young people do not relent. They want that piece of paper. Why? Status, baby. It's all about status.

Tell one of these students they would be better off learning a trade, and they will look at you as if you have lost your mind. Nevermind that there are plenty of jobs and money in the trades. There is no status. A plumber is a piece of shit no matter what he earns.

The same foolishness applies to the corporate world. People accept jobs they hate and sometimes at a reduction in pay just to get their foot on the first rung of the corporate ladder. It gets more lucrative as you move up the ladder, but it doesn't get more satisfying. You are not going to get the same level of satisfaction from a stress filled conference call that leaves your ass in tatters as you would from an actual accomplishment. This is because those white collar jobs are political and nasty while the blue collar jobs result in something real and tangible and of some benefit to another person. I know because I used to go home and drink myself to sleep and try to forget it all. Now, I go home knowing I did something.

Status is also the push behind all the material acquisitions people make that they can't afford. From McMansions to hulking SUVs to numerous high dollar toys, people buy a bunch of shit they don't need or even enjoy to impress people they don't even like. The irony is that it is people without money that fall into this trap.

The antidote to the status poison is simple. It is called individual pride. For instance, a carpenter should feel way better about himself than some Armani wearing Goldman Sachs slimebag. Even Lloyd Blankfein likes to claim that he is blue collar. But we know better. We give status to the slimebags until they go to jail, and we look down on the working man or woman who makes an honest living. But when some plumber unplugs our toilet or an electrician gets our lights back on, that is when we really appreciate them.

People should care nothing about status and all about virtue. They should care less about getting a position and more about doing a good job. They should care less about owning shit and more about doing things that really matter. And they should care more about how much they save and being financially secure than they do about what other people think of their house or car. The antidote to status is authenticity. Thanks to the recession, authenticity is coming back in a big way. Anybody can be a fake somebody. But you can't fake authenticity. Either you have it, or you don't. It can't be bought. It has to be earned.

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