What makes a person an "elite?"

[CoffeeCat]

I'm really wondering---what defines a person as an "elite?"

Is it income? Net worth?

Attitude?

The kind of car you drive or the size of your house?

Education level? Are you elite if you have a college degree?

Choice of morning beverage? Latte or Folgers?

If you listen to economists and other experts, and rely on their opinions--does that make you elite?

If you're able to understand when politicians are lying or pandering--and you do not buy into their
orchestrated soundbytes--does that make you elite--because you don't take the bait?

I know plenty of millionaires who wear ratty t-shirts and never comb their hair. Are they elites?

Conversely, I know people with modest incomes who prop up their trinket cache with credit cards. They
look a lot better than some of the millionaires. Are they elites or wannabees?

Conversely---what is the opposite of an "elite" and what common attributes do these "non-elites" share?
Are they lower income? Are their attitudes special or different from non elites....if so, how?

I'm just trying to understand what an "elite" is.

[Texas Hill Country]

1. attitude.

[Indydem]

2. When you talk down to people and act like you are superior, you are an elite. n/t

[Saturday]

3. Thinking that no one cares about an extra $30.00 a month. nt

[habitual]

4. i was under the impression the $30 was a sum total benefit (if that)

not a monthly total.

i could be wrong.

[Hepburn]

7. IIRC....it is a YEARLY figure. n/t

[mcctatas]

12. It's fuzzy math...

based on God knows what:

"Clinton campaign spokesperson Geoff Garin said in a conference call this week that the proposal would save each driver $70. The Clinton campaign did not respond to our request to clarify how it arrived at that figure. But the non-partisan American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officialsestimates that the total savings for the average American motorist works out to about $28; for a two-car household, that would be $54."


http://www.newsweek.com/id/135323?from=rss

[Saturday]

17. It's not fuzzy math.

If you drive a lot for your job you could save a lot. What's so hard about that for elite people to understand?

[mcctatas]

23. ...

"Expert opinions and analysis mean nothing now? Aside from the fact that yes, independant analysis says it IS fuzzy math, there is also the little boondoggle that it won't do anything but raise corporate profits:
That's IF prices actually dropped 18.4 cents per gallon. However, there's every indication that they wouldn't. Here's why: According to the basic principles of supply and demand, cutting the price of an item causes people to buy more of it. That's why stores put items on sale. But when something is priced too low, consumers will buy it faster than it can be manufactured, which leads to shortages.

For gasoline, this means that cutting the price by 18.4 cents per gallon -- even though that's only about five percent of the current going rate -- will likely stimulate demand for more gas, economists say. Unfortunately, there's not all that much more gas that can be provided to U.S. consumers. The refineries that turn crude oil into gasoline are already working at close to full capacity. According to the Department of Energy (DOE), U.S. refineries have the capacity to process 17.4 million barrels of oil each day. Since only about 46 percent of a barrel of crude oil is converted to gasoline, U.S. refineries, operating at their peak, can produce only 8.06 million barrels per day of the stuff most cars run on. But the DOE also says that the U.S. consumes 9.25 million barrels of gasoline per day. In other words, American motorists are already using about 1 million more barrels of gasoline per day than American refineries can produce.

With the supply of gasoline pretty much fixed (at least in the short term), the increased demand triggered by the price cut will lead consumers to bid up the price of gas. Len Burman, of the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center, says eliminating the federal tax won't actually lower the price of gas because "supply constraints will push pump prices near their pre-holiday levels." He goes on to warn that "If that didn't happen, there would be shortages." The libertarian Cato Institute's Jerry Taylor agrees that a short-term gas tax holiday will have "little impact on pump prices" http://www.newsweek.com/id/135323/page/2

Oh yeah and the little issue that it will never pass the senate and if it does Chimpy will just veto it anyway...

[Texas Hill Country]

13. even so....

[Saturday]

16. If you are a salesman or trucker it could be weekly. nt

[BattyDem]

21. You're right ... it's $30 total, not $30 a month (for the average person)

I did the math with the Gas Tax Calculator and I wouldn't even get $30 - I'd get about $23. :-(

Gas Tax Calculator

It could be $300 - it doesn't really matter because the public will never see it. The oil companies will simply maintain the current price and pocket the extra 18.4 cents.

[spartan61]

26. That's my impression, too. $30 total.

[CoffeeCat]

10. Oh, you want to talk about the gas tax?

Ok...

It is my understanding that Obama isn't saying that $30 is nothing. He's saying
that we'll never see it.

Barack Obama said that $20 or $30 is a big deal, during his speech in Indiana last night.

What he's suggesting is that the gas and oil companies will raise the price of gas to offset
the gas tax that they will be forced to absorb.

Therefore prices won't change.

This has been demonstrated as the reality when other states have cut the gas tax.

So...Obama doesn't agree that $30 is something that "no one cares about" as you said.

Still wondering what an elite is though....

[mohc]

11. Or maybe

Thinking that you can buy support with what is really $10 a month (but selling it as $30)

[Hepburn]

5. Making millions a year and pandering to the lower class about $30/year.

The height of elitism...and stupidity.

[mcctatas]

6. I think it's attitude...

I know alot of people who think themselves superior to other based on absolutely nothing. Conversely, I know alot of wealthy people with advanced degrees who drive hybrids and grind thier own beans who are humble and open-minded...
IMHO...

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

8. The same things that made them "effete intellectuals" and "dangerous radicals" earlier.

The difference being that code-words are being used by conservative Democrats rather than obvious fascists this time around.

[Crabby Appleton]

9. Attitude

not income.

[HCE SuiGeneris]

14. The decree of the queen telling you that you are.

[global1]

15. Remember When Elite Meant Something Good? Remember When Liberal......

meant something good? Remember when Clinton meant something good?

[unpossibles]

34. I too was going to ask just that

"elite" was turned into a bad word by... (wait for it) elite right wing marketers like Frank Luntz who used right wing radio hosts like Rush "wealthy son from a wealthy family" Limbaugh as a way to gain the confidence (as in "con") the average American listener into believing their propaganda.

This cracks me up, that people actually fall for this twisting of language.

America has an overly romanticized obsession with the underdog, with the rebel, with being self-sufficient when in fact the vast majority of us are anything but. Certain people who themselves are part of the "elite" ruling class have used this obsession to sell them a truckload of horseshit by making lots of people think they are some kind of righteous, moral, and self-sufficient rebels who raised themselves up by their own bootstraps.

Don't get me wrong: I highly value individualistic thinking and self-motivation myself, but I try to be realistic about it, as well as accepting that those values would get me nowhere without the benefit of living in a relatively stable society.

Yes, the word "elite" used to mean someone who was among the best at something or in the upper class, and was considered a good thing.

[LaurenG]

18. I think it's a stereo type

that has been encouraged by Senator Clinton.

An elite in my opinion:

Thinks theirs doesn't stink.
Lies because they can and about whatever they want.
Thinks voters are stupid and plays to that.
Drinks whatever they demand someone make for them.
Can't pump their own gas.
Wouldn't think of admitting a mistake about a vote for war.

Just a few elitism's and I think most people know who this sounds like. (Ooo sounds like bush too)

[Jennicut]

19. Dumbest label ever.

I went to college and have a 4 year degree. I drink lattes, granted from Dunkin Donuts where they are cheaper than a gallon of gas. I live in a working class/lower middle class little town in CT. I don't believe the government nor any entity really should tell anyone how to live their lives. I stay at home iwth my two daughters and don't work and yet I grew up in a hoity-toity rich snobby CT town called Cheshire. I guess labeling people in general is dumb. The only elites out there are millionaires and the rest of us are the lowly masses. Do we have much power other than our vote? No. Are we running for Congress or the presidency? I doubt it. At least we have the possibility or rising to become presidency in this country. Obama and Hillary started out life with modest means. That is why this argument is so dumb and tragic. How can Obama be elite when he grew up so poor and yet someone like Al Gore who grew up with a father as a senator is not elitist to me either. One can be rich and not elitist. Elitism to me is simply a politician thinking they know better for you what you need then you do. Is that not George Bush to a tee? He has cared less about the middle class or poorer people for so long that any other politician out there pales in comparison. Dumb argument.

[grasswire]

22. Obama grew up "so poor"?

Where do you get that?

[Jennicut]

30. Umm, his mother had to get food stamps at times, you don't have alot of money if you them

[slackmaster]

20. Anyone with more power, money, etc. than you is an elite

But that's not necessarily a good thing. In the wealthy suburb where I grew up (La Jolla, CA) the people with the nicest suits, most expensive shoes, and fanciest cars were inevitably also the biggest crooks in town.

[GodlessBiker]

24. So self-absorbed and egotistical, it's like those hip musicians with their complicated shoes.

[Mist]

25. In America, "elite" often means "smarter than a box of rocks." It's elite to

use your brain, for some reason.

[Leocattiglio]

27. Being in the top 5% or so makes one an elite

Being a millionaire does not make one an elite. Having billions does, or a lot of millions.

Note that "elite" and "elitist" are not the same.

"elite" can be good. "elitist" is always bad.

[swishyfeet]

28. Being a Clinton

If that doesn't do it:

$100 million New York carpetbagger who never gave up her Scranton values and calls the black guy an elitist.

[izzybeans]

29. Money and Social Position

Google Power Elite and hopefully we can quit using the Orwellian use of this term.

[NashVegas]

31. Elites vs Elitists

An elite is generally someone who is a whole lot better, at something, than you are.

That something is usually an activity that takes talent and skill.

An elitist is someone who puts so much over-emphasis on attaining elitehood that they look down on anyone who's not an elite.

You don't have to be an elite to be an elitist.

You don't have to be an elitist to be an elite.

[Political Heretic]

32. If you don't know, then you're not one of us.

:) kidding!

[Overseas]

33. Apparently not your actual circumstances, like GWB of Kennebunkport

Throw on a cowboy hat and talk kinda reglar like and you're there. The Beer Guy !! Talk nice with lots of syllables and you're a damn elite.

[DanTex]

35. The whole question is silly

It's a political attack by Hillary. It's a word used to stir resentment and pander for votes. There could be a serious discussion of what an elite is and what elitism means, but that's not what's being discussed on the campaign. What she's talking about is the perception that Obama thinks he's better than working class people and looks down on them.

For any serious discussion of what an elite is we might start with:
-US Senator from New York
-Former first lady
-Net worth over 100 million
-Wellesley, Yale Law
-Attends World Economic Forum in Davos, Council on Foreign Relations, etc.
-Flies around on private jets
-Gets chauffered so much she doesn't know how to pump gas

But I don't hold that against her. I don't care. Obama's probably an elite as well, though not quite as extreme as the Clintons. It's just the dumb political pandering that bothers me.

[bridgit]

36. Ease of making money for little more than sitting on your couch is a good start...

As to whether one *actually* is is another matter