I have a question from back here in the cheap seats. But I fear the answer may be all too simple.
I get that the OWS crowd, in whatever quarter it may be found is ostensibly angry, although angry at what is still a matter of debate apparently even amongst themselves. But they all seem to be on board with one plank in their crudely cobbled together platform: it is time to take the money from the rich.
But from way up here in the nose-bleed section of the stadium, I have noticed something, and I’d be curious to know if I am the only one who has spotted this particular naked monarch strutting down the strand. Is it just me, or are they only interested in taking money from what they would characterize as conservative rich people?
I bring this up because the snow is starting to fall here in the intermountain west, which means soon we shall see people beginning to make their way to the ski slopes that dot the trendier precincts of our region.
My wife and I aren’t skiers, but we do like to set aside a little cash for a weekend trip now and then to these resort towns during the summer. The scenery is beautiful, the shops are interesting, the restaurants are good, and there are usually some fascinating art galleries in which we can lose ourselves for an afternoon as we dream about what we will do if we ever amass enough money to make one of these places our permanent address.
We aren’t holding our breath, a home in one of these towns is astronomical, even in a down housing market. To give you an idea, we once shopped a condo in Moab that went for $800k that had slightly more square footage than your average two-car garage.
I admit, Moab is not a ski town, but go ahead and look at real estate in vacation towns. No OWS’er will ever come near to buying property in such places. Nor will I and I suspect the same is true for many of you.
But aside from the high price tags I have noticed an interesting phenomenon about these towns. They are almost exclusively liberal. Obama stickers can be found on many of the bumpers of the SUV’s (You can work out the irony there on your own.) the main radio station is almost always an NPR station and there are liberal signs, liberal ideals and liberal causes everywhere one looks. Which is fine by me, as there is no reason a town should not reflect the values of its inhabitants.
But they are liberal and rich. In fact on one trip I listened to a restaurant patron at a table next to mine bemoan the issue of whether or not her family would spend Christmas in New York or at the Vineyard. Well, it’s her money and she can spend it however she wants; and I am glad that was the greatest crisis she was facing that day.
Would that we were all so similarly burdened?
So my questions, and I do have them in case you were wondering, are: when will we see “Occupy Vail” or “Occupy Aspen” ?
When will we see “Occupy Martha’s Vineyard”?
When will these firebrands occupy Nancy Pelosi’s front yard, or either of Michael Moore’s two homes?
When will they occupy Al Gore’s property?
Will they demand from their encouragers and their cheerleaders the same sort of sacrifice they are demanding from everyone else?
The answer I am afraid is probably the same answer to the question of when any of us can afford a resort town condo: Don’t hold your breath.
John Ransom | Create Your Badge
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