Street art, Paris
Someone left a comment, which went into the Spam folder (probably because of the fake name and email they used to leave it) about how wealthy people with yachts make a lot of business for people who serve and service yacht owners, and now that boat sales are down in California (which appears to him to be the fault of liberals, not a casualty of our Bush-crashed/war-drained economy) everyone is screwed.
In his opinion what we really need are more wealthy people in yachts, so that the common people could have more jobs serving and servicing them. I hardly know what to say. It’s like when a guy I was dating threw trash on the ground outside a movie theater, and I was like “WTFF?!”, and he said that he was creating jobs. Because if he threw it on the ground, you know, someone had to be paid to pick it up.
I just shook my head. And picked up the trash.
Somehow, I don’t think more wealthy people in yachts are the answer to California’s or America’s problems. I guess I’d pick legalizing and taxing marijuana over giving wealthy people more tax breaks so they will buy more yachts and then maybe give us jobs cleaning their staterooms and pumping their bilge.
Or maybe we could raise taxes on the wealthy (what a concept) so they pay a bit more than the middle class and a hell of a lot more than the poor. Then we could directly fund more jobs so we wouldn’t have to wait for a wealthy person with a yacht to sail in and order takeout.
Or maybe we could go all New Deal, and build a national rail system, you know (what a concept) and put Detroit to work building the trains and a hell of a lot of other people to work making track and selling tickets and running trains. Or tax churches who get into politics and public health policy.
Honestly, we have so many more options than giving our money to extremely wealthy people to Trickle Down™. No matter how handsome my Grandma thought Reagan looked while suggesting it, that idea just hasn’t been… working out.
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February 24th, 2012 at 9:41 pm
I think a cross-country rail system is a great idea! Less cars on the roads, not using gas seems too simple. When I was in Mexico, we used the bus system and it works. this is supposed to be such an advanced nation, how come we don’t have something at least comparable!
(don’t get me started on the yacht thing!)
February 24th, 2012 at 10:04 pm
I would love to see investments for shared spaces and shared possessions. Wouldn’t it be cool to have a community woodworking shop to drop into and use a bandsaw? Or a sewing room with tables for cutting and a good iron? Or a clubhouse to rent once a year for a big party?
How silly is it to have to have one’s own stuff for everything.
February 24th, 2012 at 10:11 pm
YES! I am trying to do that in a small way with my Tucson house.
February 25th, 2012 at 7:25 am
I have nothing witty to say. I have a cold and I think it’s fucking with my synapse firing.
But I so thoroughly enjoyed reading this I just wanted to tell you so.
That and I’m surprised trash guy didn’t get vaporized into a tiny mound of ash and a wisp of smoke the second that trash hit the ground. I think that’s the way it ought to work.
February 25th, 2012 at 7:35 am
He was a member of the wealthy white boy frat boy oligarchy, and as such was immune to normal punishments.