Wealth and Power

"All animals are equal. But some are more equal than others." -- George Orwell, "Animal Farm."

"I may not be better than anybody else, but I'm just as good." -- The Unsinkable Molly Brown.

It is a fallacy to believe that rich equals better.

There is no place for a caste system in a democratic society.

   News item: Ten percent of Americans now control more than half the wealth of the nation, and the income gap is widening. Moreover, the wealthiest one percent recovered faster from the Great Recession than the rest of the people, many of whom have not only failed to recover lost assets, but are still losing as they continue to hunt for a job.

   Some believe the poor are poor because they deserve to be poor. It is the will of Fate. 
   By that reasoning, those who are born into poverty are there because that is their Destiny. Similarly, those born to wealth -- regardless of ability, intelligence, skill or talent -- deserve respect and deference solely because that is their station in life.
   But having wealth is not by itself alone reason for special treatment. Having wealth and power make you rich and influential. They do not make you a better person.

   "The rich are different from you and me." -- F. Scott Fitzgerald.
   "Yes, they have more money." -- Ernest Hemingway.

   But that's the only difference, and that alone does not entitle them to preferential treatment. -- Pug Mahoney.