This is a play on words from this (excellent) NYTimes Opinion piece by Jasmine Sun [1] titled "Silicon Valley is bracing for the permanent underclass"

[1]": https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/30/opinion/ai-labor-work-for...

(Gift article)

I find this exact attribution very unlikely; this article is from April 2026 and the term "permanent underclass" is used in this way since at least 2025.

In fact, the repo says:

  This is my social commentary on the "Permanent Upper Class" philosophical virus that has spread through San Francisco tech communities like the plague in the last year or so. You can read the original blog post [here].
  While the game tells a grim story, my goal with this is to show how ridiculous this way of thinking is. I'm actually more optimistic that humans will find a way to prevent this future but if we don't then I suppose none of us will don top hats for eternity.