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Re: Monday, October 10, 2005
First, thanks for responding to my comment. And second, you are no doubt right that "Many truly expensive and indulgent settings could be justaposed to Katrina's ruins with greater effect." The plastic ticky-tacky -- which I would find offensive on aesthetic grounds -- probably does not come across as strongly in the photos as it does in life. Also right that I find Las Vegas unappealing if not downright morally reprehensible. While the strip is visually spectacular, I never see it without feeling that all that water in the desert and electrical power could be put to much better use. And third, I am speaking from a bedrock of anger at an economic system and particularly the current Republican administration that is heavily rigged in favor of corporations and the wealthy while ignoring the increasingly desperate plight of low-level workers and the most vulnerable members of society. The costs of tax breaks for luxurious junkets for corporate managers are ultimately passed on to consumers and result in a proportionally heavier tax burden on middle and lower income workers, especially since Bush's tax cuts. (Even though you and others did some productive work, the choice of a cruise ship as a venue argues against any claim that it was primarily a work conference.) I am deeply disturbed by trends in our economy that have allowed CEOs' incomes to take quantum leaps upward while ever-increasing numbers of workers at the lower levels have sunk deeper into poverty, working two or more temporary or part-time jobs without health insurance, retirement plans or other benefits. You and I probably are too far apart on economic and political issues to find common ground, but I appreciate the opportunity to debate someone whom I respect so highly as a human being.
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