How is this novel? Just sounds like the “lifestyle creep” trap of just always wanting slightly nicer

FWIW I think SFUSD changes the public/private math a little: you can live in a 3m house and the neighborhood school for you is 2/10 on great schools or less. I’m not saying this rating scale is perfect but am saying that 2/10 is probably pretty bad. Also FWIW 1/3 of the school age kids in SF go private.

The main difference is "lifestyle creep" is an individual problem / choice. You make more, but you spend more of it. Your lifestyle is improved, but there's a diminishing rate of return.

The collective "lifestyle creep" where the consumers are competing can cost everyone more while resulting in worse outcomes overall. Almost like reverse capitalism. Instead of producers / sellers competing (on quality and price), there is just so much demand from consumers that they are forced to sacrifice quality while paying a higher price.

That's why SF houses are significantly cheaper than their equivalents in suburbs like Palo Alto, Tri-Valley, Lamoraga, Marin, etc.

Or lemme put it this way - $1.5 million buys you a single family home with a backyard in outer sunset, but only buys you a townhouse with no backyard in the Tri-Valley, but the family in outer sunset will have to send their kid to a private while the Tri-Valley household kid will attend some of the best public schools in the nation.

Back in the stone age we called this "keeping up with the Joneses."

Also, you step in poop on the way to school.