Wajahat Ali references the Daniel Day Lewis line (There Will Be Blood) “I drink your milkshake” to underscore this point. It drives home the hoarding aspect: billionaires don’t earn their wealth; they extract it from the rest of us.
I’m a mom with a wooden spoon! We desperately need legislation to address the grabbing of treasure. Perhaps voting for folks that are not grabbing would be a good idea.
Fantastic analogy Jess. My husband & I keep saying, "how much can one person really spend?". Our culture is out of whack! Or as our lawyer friend says, "I've never seen a Brinks Truck behind the hearse".
My dad always said he wished he could come back every hundred years to see how things are going. I figure the problems may look different but are always the same.
In Jackson County, MO, Stacy Lake is running for county executive. That is exactly part of her plan!
“ Under my plan, we will prioritize Homeowners over developers. This means providing tax breaks and grant opportunities for purchasing and rehabilitating homes for Jackson County residents. Additionally, I will support litigation that will stifle foreign, corporate and outside investors from buying residential single family houses in Jackson County. With these policies, we will protect our neighborhoods and ensure homeownership is attainable for our future generations.”
I live in the suburbs in Charlotte, NC. IMO, we can trace a lot of the corporate ownership to the housing crisis back in 2007 - 2008, when so many people were underwater on their mortgages and the banks were authorizing short sales right and left.
Several houses in my neighborhood were sold that way and almost all of them became rental properties. There is a public county database where you can look up properties by owner or street address and I recall seeing the ownership passed to LLCs rather than individuals for the most part. And a reverse search showed multiple properties for the same owner of record.
Since I moved to Charlotte back in the '80s, we have also had an influx of people moving from more expensive real estate markets (as companies moved their corporate headquarters here). Home builders were quick to jump on the demand for fancier homes and the average size (and price) of new-construction homes grew dramatically. We have also seen a flurry of teardowns and "gentrification" in older more modest neighborhoods, futher depleting the stock of smaller homes.
I was able to buy a modest "starter" home of under 1400 sq. ft in the early 90s, but the vast majority of the homes in my neighborhood are in the range of 2200 - 3400 sq. ft. And for the surrounding neighborhoods (built since my neighborhood was built out) 3400 sq. feet would be considered on the smaller side!
Young families are definitely priced out and like many places around the country we have an affordable housing crisis. If I were coming up now, I **might** have technically been able to qualify for a mortgage on my current home, but the mortgage payment would have taken a much larger chunk of my take home pay.
Lots of people measure success by the accumulation of things. And marketing gurus really learned the power of leveraging FOMO (fear of missing out). My news feed had an article earlier this week complaining about people being "hoarders" and holding on to their devices too long. Who gets to decide what is "too long"?
BTW, I think we would all be better off if we measured success by the quality of our relationships.
Unfortunately your analogy points to the need for enforcement and when it comes to wealth, the same is true. We scrutinise and monitor people collecting any sort of government assistance but we never ask the wealthy hard questions. Hell, we don't even audit their tax returns and when they become a billionaire, we do not ask for an accounting of how they accumulated that much money. We must support the bill that has yet to be heard in Congress to tax the wealthy. Let's stop giving them tax breaks and start increasing their tax rate.
Really good point about how the poor are scrutinized and monitored if they apply for any assistantship. But the wealth hoarders escape scrutiny. Our president is the primo example of a scrutiny dodger. He said he would make his taxes public, and there ought to be a real hue and cry that once again he lied. When Jess talked about the ham balls guy’s heaping plate, in my mind, he had wild hair and orange makeup.
This is not just germane in the USA but across the 'developed' world. Here in UK, years of austerity following the 2008 crash have widened the gap between the obscenely wealthy and the poor. The richest 10% of the population owning 43% of all wealth and their wealth being more than the bottom 50% of the population. The poorest 50% control a mere 9% of the Nations' total wealth The wealthy have a ladle, the poor a teaspoon.
Thanks for repeating what Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren and Robert Reich have been saying for decades. They say it, but you put it in terms people can relate to in their own lives.
There's some research suggesting we have moved into a far more narcissistic era than we have seen in 100 years. Our parents/grandparents taught us to share, to not be greedy. Wealthy families did not, although the Roosevelts may be an exception.
The corporations that do blockbuster business do so because America gave them the opportunity to succeed. Their response is not to give back to society but to grab even more off the table--and thus make sure no one ever competes with them. I avoid buying anything from those companies when I can, but consumer boycotts, while a start, will not be enough. We need radical transformation. Businesses used to pay a lot more toward the social stability that allows them to thrive. The gap between what a CEO and a worker are paid has never been so wide, and it keeps getting wider.
private equity is the problem. They own hundreds of thousands of houses as investments. The estimate is that private equity will control 30% of single family housing in the US by 2030. It is massively harmful to our country.
I teach high school science, and every now and then I teach Environmental Science--and it always starts with a fundamental concept called Tragedy of the Commons. (coined by Garrett Hardin) It means that whenever there is a common resource (like land, air, water...groceries during a pandemic...or housing...or money), someone will overuse it until it's all gone unless there are regulations put into place. It's a lesson I come back to in every single unit and is completely relevant today in terms of what these corporations are doing--especially the ones that say water isn't a human right for crying out loud.
Wajahat Ali references the Daniel Day Lewis line (There Will Be Blood) “I drink your milkshake” to underscore this point. It drives home the hoarding aspect: billionaires don’t earn their wealth; they extract it from the rest of us.
We called them treasures…..in the soup and salads, too. I’m 66 and still leave most of the treasures for others…..there’s no greater joy than this
Ahhhh…I love that you call the goodies “treasures.”
I’m a mom with a wooden spoon! We desperately need legislation to address the grabbing of treasure. Perhaps voting for folks that are not grabbing would be a good idea.
Yes !
I’m a dad with four ”No Kings” signs and a substack where we organize local “We the People” protests.
Fantastic analogy Jess. My husband & I keep saying, "how much can one person really spend?". Our culture is out of whack! Or as our lawyer friend says, "I've never seen a Brinks Truck behind the hearse".
My dad always added, "Every hundred years, everything changes hands."
My dad always said he wished he could come back every hundred years to see how things are going. I figure the problems may look different but are always the same.
Our country needs a mom, period. Put a woman in charge! Preferably one over 40 who is over all the bullshirt!
❤️❤️❤️
We can do that!
In Jackson County, MO, Stacy Lake is running for county executive. That is exactly part of her plan!
“ Under my plan, we will prioritize Homeowners over developers. This means providing tax breaks and grant opportunities for purchasing and rehabilitating homes for Jackson County residents. Additionally, I will support litigation that will stifle foreign, corporate and outside investors from buying residential single family houses in Jackson County. With these policies, we will protect our neighborhoods and ensure homeownership is attainable for our future generations.”
I live in the suburbs in Charlotte, NC. IMO, we can trace a lot of the corporate ownership to the housing crisis back in 2007 - 2008, when so many people were underwater on their mortgages and the banks were authorizing short sales right and left.
Several houses in my neighborhood were sold that way and almost all of them became rental properties. There is a public county database where you can look up properties by owner or street address and I recall seeing the ownership passed to LLCs rather than individuals for the most part. And a reverse search showed multiple properties for the same owner of record.
Since I moved to Charlotte back in the '80s, we have also had an influx of people moving from more expensive real estate markets (as companies moved their corporate headquarters here). Home builders were quick to jump on the demand for fancier homes and the average size (and price) of new-construction homes grew dramatically. We have also seen a flurry of teardowns and "gentrification" in older more modest neighborhoods, futher depleting the stock of smaller homes.
I was able to buy a modest "starter" home of under 1400 sq. ft in the early 90s, but the vast majority of the homes in my neighborhood are in the range of 2200 - 3400 sq. ft. And for the surrounding neighborhoods (built since my neighborhood was built out) 3400 sq. feet would be considered on the smaller side!
Young families are definitely priced out and like many places around the country we have an affordable housing crisis. If I were coming up now, I **might** have technically been able to qualify for a mortgage on my current home, but the mortgage payment would have taken a much larger chunk of my take home pay.
Indeed, we are in another age of Robber Barons. I remember how the last one ended.
"Live simply, so that others may simply live." That sounds so quaint now, doesn't it? Who raised these greedy assholes?
Lots of people measure success by the accumulation of things. And marketing gurus really learned the power of leveraging FOMO (fear of missing out). My news feed had an article earlier this week complaining about people being "hoarders" and holding on to their devices too long. Who gets to decide what is "too long"?
BTW, I think we would all be better off if we measured success by the quality of our relationships.
I have always admired the concept of potlatch ceremony! Status attained through generosity.
They sleep not, except they have done mischief;
And their sleep is taken away, unless they cause some to fall
For they eat the bread of wickedness,
And they drink the wine of violence.
- PROVERBS 4: 16-17
"Help thy brother's boat across, and Lo! thine own hath reached the shore."--Hindu Proverb
Unfortunately your analogy points to the need for enforcement and when it comes to wealth, the same is true. We scrutinise and monitor people collecting any sort of government assistance but we never ask the wealthy hard questions. Hell, we don't even audit their tax returns and when they become a billionaire, we do not ask for an accounting of how they accumulated that much money. We must support the bill that has yet to be heard in Congress to tax the wealthy. Let's stop giving them tax breaks and start increasing their tax rate.
Really good point about how the poor are scrutinized and monitored if they apply for any assistantship. But the wealth hoarders escape scrutiny. Our president is the primo example of a scrutiny dodger. He said he would make his taxes public, and there ought to be a real hue and cry that once again he lied. When Jess talked about the ham balls guy’s heaping plate, in my mind, he had wild hair and orange makeup.
Well said, thank you, I will repeat your post.
This is not just germane in the USA but across the 'developed' world. Here in UK, years of austerity following the 2008 crash have widened the gap between the obscenely wealthy and the poor. The richest 10% of the population owning 43% of all wealth and their wealth being more than the bottom 50% of the population. The poorest 50% control a mere 9% of the Nations' total wealth The wealthy have a ladle, the poor a teaspoon.
Thanks for repeating what Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren and Robert Reich have been saying for decades. They say it, but you put it in terms people can relate to in their own lives.
Another good parable Jess. Thank you. Anxious to see the results of Tennessee's election this week.
Me too! Go Aftyn!
There's some research suggesting we have moved into a far more narcissistic era than we have seen in 100 years. Our parents/grandparents taught us to share, to not be greedy. Wealthy families did not, although the Roosevelts may be an exception.
And the Kennedy's also cared about others welfare. At least the majority of them.
The corporations that do blockbuster business do so because America gave them the opportunity to succeed. Their response is not to give back to society but to grab even more off the table--and thus make sure no one ever competes with them. I avoid buying anything from those companies when I can, but consumer boycotts, while a start, will not be enough. We need radical transformation. Businesses used to pay a lot more toward the social stability that allows them to thrive. The gap between what a CEO and a worker are paid has never been so wide, and it keeps getting wider.
private equity is the problem. They own hundreds of thousands of houses as investments. The estimate is that private equity will control 30% of single family housing in the US by 2030. It is massively harmful to our country.
Love the wooden spoon part!!
I teach high school science, and every now and then I teach Environmental Science--and it always starts with a fundamental concept called Tragedy of the Commons. (coined by Garrett Hardin) It means that whenever there is a common resource (like land, air, water...groceries during a pandemic...or housing...or money), someone will overuse it until it's all gone unless there are regulations put into place. It's a lesson I come back to in every single unit and is completely relevant today in terms of what these corporations are doing--especially the ones that say water isn't a human right for crying out loud.
Privatize the profits, democratize the costs. Use of the commons should be sustainable and fair. We need leaders who won’t give away the future.