Our Democratic governor, worth hundreds of millions, has paid little to no income tax over the past five years (and likely much longer). That seems relevant as Congress fiddles with taxing the extremely wealthy to help pay for needed social and infrastructure programs. Progressive voters may have been in error when they conflated the fact that he is openly gay with progressive politics.
Gay or straight, liberal or conservative, the very rich tend to share one basic instinct: they want to keep and grow their wealth. They have the sort of head start on this that guarantees success. The key is to remember Polis not as our gay governor but as our fabulously wealthy governor. He is not one of "us."
The second news item analyzed the extraordinary sums pharmaceutical companies are spending on lobbying to keep drug prices as high as possible, thus insuring their continued high profits.
A conspiracy theorist might enjoy imagining a Big Pharma company starting a global pandemic just to expand profits to atmospheric levels. Nah. That couldn't happen.
Anyway, for the vast majority of Americans, we stand on the sidelines watching as fabulously wealthy and powerful people make decisions about our lives. No wonder it gets tougher and tougher to convince people (voters) to participate in our political system.
Sorry about my cynical tone today, but really... what grounds do I have to wax optimistic?
On the other hand, my family and I are fine and healthy and busy going about life, raising kids and supporting grandkids, and growing businesses and all the things I had hoped for us.
Is the best solution to my cynicism problem simply ignoring the news and keeping my head down? That's tough for a guy who eagerly opens several newspapers each day and who still teaches journalism from time to time.
For most Americans, ignoring all the pontificating and changing reports is much easier. And (maybe?) likely to be happier.
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