Every rational citizen realizes that the spread between the “haves” and the “have-nots” is growing by leaps and bounds. Less than 1% of the population controls nearly 50% of the wealth in this country. And examples of exorbitant wealth pop up in the headlines constantly. Business CEO’s make over 1,000 times what their average employees earn. Elon Musk recently won a court challenge over his $56 billion (yes, that’s “billion”) annual salary. Sports stars (and even those who aren’t stars) are awarded eye-popping contracts that result in ticket prices out of reach for most middle class families. Apart from salary differences, occasionally a local situation demonstrates how the “rich” get their way even when it harms their own community. In the Greater Cincinnati, Ohio area, Sunlight Pool (the largest re-circulating pool in America), a community swimming pool that had been enjoyed for decades at an amusement park named Coney Island was purchased by–of all groups–the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra. Over the objections of hundreds of pool-goers the Orchestra group decided to bull-doze the pool and build a much larger venue for its performances. Now–with the project half done–the Orchestra group has come up $8 million short. So, while the summer heat rolls on, the community has a big hole in the ground that seems to be going nowhere. The “haves” wanted a better stage and they chose to destroy the pool used by the “have-nots” for decades. Who knows how this mess will evolve…The lesson seems to be: we started this country by leaving a class society in Europe; but, after 250 years we seem to be returning to our roots. Is the Golden Rule really “He who has the gold makes the rule?”
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