Things that are enjoyable are often also likely to be status symbols:

https://stefanfschubert.com/blog/2022/4/6/status-as-a-multiplier-on-intrinsic-enjoyment

In my experience far from always true: the status seems to persist much longer than the enjoyment - but still, it's an interesting argument for...

... why high sales taxes are likely to be an actually not-that-inefficient form of taxation. I can't find it anymore but I saw a result once suggesting that, taking status effects into account, the optimal sales tax might be around 40%.

A blanket 40% sales tax would be very hard on the working class, no? Unless you offset it with EITC or some other kind of negative income tax

Real World Ethereum 🌎 
building /daimo ✳️ 

I guess when I mentally think about tweaking tax policy I by default subconsciously attach a per-person rebate that makes it inequality-neutral.

Which is ok, but now you've got an inequality of opportunity costs as lower earners are effectively loaning the state their taxes all year interest free, as opposed to investing that money in themselves. That could be a year worth of community college that can't happen.