in the strip. They exist only as a symbolic benchmark of status that the McGinises mention constantly when justifying their own extravagant or unnecessary purchases. Burlesque Situations
—Aloysius, his wife Clarice, their daughter Julie, and their housekeeper Bella Donna—as they navigate life in suburban America. The Struggle for Status keeping it up with the joneses jab comix
which today refers to the social pressure to maintain a lifestyle comparable to one's peers. Momand based the strip on his own family's experiences trying to live a "well-to-do" lifestyle on a modest income in Long Island. in the strip
The comic was so successful that it coined the popular idiom "keeping up with the Joneses," his wife Clarice