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Recently, Reddit user u/degreeofvariation posed the question, “What was loved by the poor until the rich ruined it?”
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“Food banks. My local food bank put out a news article basically saying that wealthy people should stop using food banks as a 'life hack' to save money on groceries.”
—u/confidentlycorrect
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“Etsy. There are tons of accounts selling cheap, shoddy Chinese stuff that you can get on other websites. No, I come to Etsy for handmade items and to support artistic individuals.”
—u/PhysicalPrimary-256
“Yes, I remember trying to avoid the temptation of Shein and buying a unique pearl belly dance waist chain on Etsy for $20. Readers, it was from Shein, but it had no tags and was 200% more expensive. Thanks to the reviewer for exposing it.”
—u/onlythebestformia
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“Houses. We poor people work our whole lives to have a house. Real estate became a great investment and a way to grow wealth, so rich people started buying houses. Instead of buying them to live in, they rented them out to poor people, and by renting them out they kept them poor, so they never saved enough to buy their own house.”
—u/Etobokk
“It's amazing. My parents immigrated in the early '90s, worked minimum wage, and bought their first home five years later. In a minimum wage job! They experienced the true American Dream. That's not the case for my generation.”
—u/exWiFi69
Hispanolistic (via Getty Images)
“Go to the Farmer's Market”
—u/M-Squared804
“It went from local farmers and affordable produce to artisanal creations for the elite.”
—u/KeepOnRising19
“Let's not forget the ones that border on MLM, like the ones selling 'Brazilian Cheese Bread' that they make using prepackaged mixes and equipment provided by the parent company. There are also booths encouraging you to buy solar panels or new windows with silly spinning wheels that let you win prizes like company-branded bottle openers in exchange for your name, address, the make of your first car, and your Social Security number.”
—u/danny17402
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“A counter-culture based festival. Burning Man was on my bucket list until rich people started showing up with bodyguards and creating private zones.”
—u/hgaben90
“I saw this comment recently about Burning Man: Rich people cosplaying as poor people.”
—u/OutsideBus9592
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“I shop at thrift stores. I don't ✨recycle✨. I don't have money.”
–u/Eldurot
“Sometimes I find it's cheaper to buy new clothes at Target or Walmart than it is to buy them at a thrift store.”
—u/Urchintexasyellow
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“Buying a house that 'needs fixing up' and spending a weekend fixing it up. I was really looking forward to it.”
—u/cloudstrife1191
“I always say: FUCK scalpers. If the house isn't usable or derelict, someone who will actually live there can buy it. Scalpers try to justify their existence by saying people want something 'move in ready,' as if people would buy it in that condition.”
—u/Foamtoweldisplay
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“Champion brand clothes. I had lots of them when I was a kid because they were the cheapest, but now all that stuff is considered 'vintage.'”
—u/moondog8
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“A scrap of meat.”
—Long Function 2549
“I remember when skirt steak was an affordable meat.”
—u/Evamore
“There are a lot of ethnic foods in America. The really good ones might be really cheap and off the beaten path until the yuppies and hipsters discover them, and then they're sold as crappy food in every shopping mall for $30 a plate.”
—u/Atheist_Alex_C
“I remember when chicken wings were 10 cents because they couldn't be given away for free. Now it's become an industry. Plus, they fold one wing in half and call it two wings.”
—u/Caspers_Shadow
George Pachantouris (via Getty Images)
“A quiet, secluded country cabin by a lake. Now it's an overpriced Airbnb.”
—u/amyaurora
“I think the same thing happens with Airbnb itself. It started out as a cheap alternative to hotels run by people with spare space they weren't doing anything with. Now people are building guesthouses just for Airbnb and treating them like full rentals.”
—u/Jarf_17
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“Pickup trucks. They used to be cheaper.”
—u/NCBadAsp
“These are luxury commuter vehicles for people who think a $90,000 truck that will never go on a dirt road is a smart choice.”
—u/HauntedCemetery
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“Vanlife and tiny house living.”
—u/Cooper_brain
“I'm living in a beat-up van after they tried to kick me out of my apartment. Every once in a while I meet a wealthy couple who've converted a $100,000 van and they ask me, 'What's your house like?' and I say, 'I've got a mattress and not much else.' It can be really infuriating.”
—u/Tangelo_12
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“Collectible card games and retro video games. When scalpers get involved, the prices skyrocket and no one can do anything about it.”
—u/divine_shadow
“Retro gaming is ridiculous now, and I'm so grateful I was able to get most of what I wanted long before what the market was like today.”
—u/Goldeneel77
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“eBay. It used to be such a great place to get all kinds of cheap and unique stuff. Then more and more big commercial sellers got on board, and eventually eBay itself forgot what and who made the platform successful in the first place.”
—u/onesmilematters
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“Eat salmon. Fish used to be a poor man's food. Now you have to pay an exorbitant amount for just a little bit of fish.”
—u/claymir
“Prisoners were given lobsters, which are bottom-dwelling and therefore classified as junk food. Caviar and oysters were also foods of the poor.”
—u/Commercial-Many-8933
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“Carhartt clothes. Blue-collar workers needed them to be durable, then celebrities started wearing them 'fashionably' and the prices went up.”
—u/PepperDice
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And finally, “Going to NFL games and concerts. Tickets have been out of my budget for the last few years.”
—u/NissanLeafowner
“Exorbitant ticket prices, plus service charges, parking and beer. No, no thanks, I'd rather have a nice holiday instead.”
—u/FullThrottle-
