Thousands of stranded Burning Man attendees were finally headed home in hours-long lines on Monday and Tuesday.

  • Sundance@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    The census data does not support that claim

    The majority the incomes are middle class (50,000 - 100,000) and as the majority of the participants are from California, that does not go very far.

    • circuitfarmer@lemmy.sdf.org
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      1 year ago

      Fair enough. Do you have a source for that? (Not denying it, just want to see data that I obviously don’t have). I don’t really get why the California part supports a counterclaim either, but maybe that’s borne out by your data.

      • Sundance@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        Income is heavily affected by cost of living. We pay much higher rates for housing, fuel, and groceries than most of the country. Even in more of the rural areas incomes, generally SKU hire to make living somewhat affordable.

        https://blackrockcitycensus.org/

        • circuitfarmer@lemmy.sdf.org
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          1 year ago

          I get that about the costs in Cali – but that doesn’t mean lots of people in Cali are automatically poor or can claim not to be well-to-do. In fact, I’d say that’s a dangerous idea, because rich in California can also tend to be richer than elsewhere, for the same reasons you cited.

          Is it correct to say the data in this census was self-reported?

          Edit: also, do you happen to know the average cost of a ticket to Burning Man? Googling produces weird results due to a strange pricing scheme.

          • Sundance@lemmy.world
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            1 year ago

            I guess what I’m saying is the largest qty of people going are of a middle/low income based on the average location called home.

            The rich represent a fairly small portion. Some of the people in my camp are way above my income but their generosity was astounding. IMO BM brings out the exceptional qualities of people.

            Don’t know the average but I think base price is about $600.

            I heard that the main chunk of your tickets cost goes to renting out the desert and paying for the federal Ranger and local police support

            • circuitfarmer@lemmy.sdf.org
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              1 year ago

              $600 is tremendous for most people in the US right now – and it doesn’t really matter why the cost is that high, only that the cost is that high given the aim of the festival.

              If the figures from the census are self-reported, in a situation like Burning Man, I would question their accuracy. It’s possible that no one has reliable data, but all data should always be treated with a similar vigor. Obviously everyone who goes to BM thinks they are making a statement, but the people who would benefit the most from such a statement likely can’t afford a $600 ticket.

              So I guess the tl;dr from me is: I don’t think there is evidence that BM is the populist movement it wants to be anymore.

              • Sundance@lemmy.world
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                1 year ago

                I agree with that.

                I believe there are discounted tickets and even free tickets offered to minority artists as well as grants for art installations.