The Little Black Dress is a staple of every woman’s wardrobe. It is not necessarily the flashiest piece, but the LBD is universally accepted as a flattering and classic fashion icon. While on the surface, cars and dresses may not seem the most fitting parallel, in Basking Ridge the two are fairly comparable.
The Little Silver Lexus conveys the same status and sophistication as the renowned LBD does. There is scarcely a road driven in Basking Ridge that does not have a silver Lexus driving on it. While little black dresses have followed the lives of many from birthdays to school dances, from to weddings to funerals, the LSL has driven Basking Ridge residents past perfectly manicured lawns and into two—or even three—door garages every day. Both have come to symbolize entire communities by way of a subtle fashion statement.
However, contrary to popular belief, the Little Silver Lexus does not have the same trendiness in most other American towns. The starting price of a Lexus RX 350 is $40,970. In Basking Ridge, Acuras and BMWs often take the roads to school in the morning and park in the lots of local Rite Aids. Basking Ridge, obviously, is not the average American town. The median family income here is $168,591. When compared to the median income of the average American family income of $64,585, the difference is staggering. The income per capita here—or the average income of every resident in Basking Ridge (including children)—is $69,498, about 2.5 times more than the national average.
These numbers may seem mundane, but they reveal the discrepancy between the economic climates of the United States as a whole and of our community. Therefore, it should not come as a surprise that much of the Ridge population does not know much about the current state of the American economy.
Hyeiwon Kim ‘17 claims, “All I know is that my mom is angry because the prices of homes are going up. Also, my dad was happy about gas prices going down. But I don’t really know what to think. I don’t know.”
Although the residents here are honest people who have invested time and energy into creating the best possible economic situations for themselves and their dependents, money is not as big a concern among Ridge students as it is in other American towns. Since the Great Recession, or the period characterized by high housing prices and unemployment rates with low consumer activity and trust in banks from 2007-2009, the unemployment rate nationwide of October 2014 marked a 6-year low of 5.8%. In Basking Ridge, the unemployment rate was 4.9%. It is obvious that the United States is recovering from its 21st century downturn, albeit slowly.
To the adults in our life, the economy is a prominent aspect of life, but to students, not so much. Even though our teachers and parents could probably give some insight on the current state of the American economy, most learning at Ridge High School cannot.
Kim also commented on the distance between Ridge students and the influence of the economy: “We’re learning about the Northern and Southern economy of the 1850s; I’m not concerned about the economy now.”
This same sentiment is echoed by her peers; Michael Lavy ‘17 states that the “current state of the economy does not really matter to me, because I’m a sophomore. I mean, my parents are working out who drives what car so that we can make the most of the gas efficiencies, so it’s a conscious effort. But it’s not a big deal. It affects my family, but not me.”
The Little Silver Lexus still cruises on, past town boundaries and into less privileged communities. In cities like Camden, the LSL does not fit into its surroundings. Through its headlights, The Little Silver Lexus has seen broken communities on the way to destinations of various excursions and has passed shambled homes in less affluent neighborhoods. Though the passengers of the Little Silver Lexus know of these places, the overall interest of the American economy outside of the Basking Ridge Bubble is still slim. Even when stepping out of the distinctly American town that we call home with an economy that is anything but, Basking Ridge residents continue to be sheltered by the fashionable bubble that is the Little Silver Lexus.