Royalty in America

For a nation that was founded on the idea of no royalty we have a growing group of families that are treated like they are part of that aristocratic class. They are the group whose names keep reappearing in our politics. The latest is Caroline Kennedy, the daughter of President John F. Kennedy and niece of Senator Ted Kennedy.

There are other famous names like Bush (President George Herbert Walker Bush, President George W. Bush, former Florida Governor Jeb Bush), Rockefeller (Senator Jay Rockefeller, Vice President Nelson Rockefeller), Bayh, Gore, Clinton, etc.

Do these families believe they have a claim to high office? It certainly appears to be the case. The problem is that all of these families have the money and the connections to obtain whatever they want. It was reported that Caroline Kennedy has been a major fund raiser for New York City schools. It’s probably true. The reason is name recognition. It’s obviously not exclusive to one political party.

I personally find this situation very objectionable. We have allowed a relatively small group of people control the path of this nation. The path is not necessarily bad but it is one that obviously benefits the controlling families.

If you look at the two political parties that have controlled this nation for most of its history you will notice that they are not too different from each other. The Democrats do favor and support labor views while Republicans have historically been supporters of big business. However once in office most presidents seem to shed much of their political party rhetoric and follow paths that are less political. Many of the decisions made appear to be more in their own self interest and what is best for their families rather than what is best for America.

Barack Obama has participated in the sustaining of the royalty class when he selected Hilary Clinton for Secretary of State. Obama is a smart politician. He is not the great change agent that everyone bought. There is only one way this situation will change and that is through the ballot box.

What Are the Responsibilities of the Wealthy?

A United Nations University study revealed the following information. “The richest 2% of adults in the world own more than half of global household wealth according to a path-breaking study released today by the Helsinki-based World Institute for Development Economics Research of the United Nations University (UNU-WIDER).”

“The most comprehensive study of personal wealth ever undertaken also reports that the richest 1% of adults alone owned 40% of global assets in the year 2000, and that the richest 10% of adults accounted for 85% of the world total. In contrast, the bottom half of the world adult population owned barely 1% of global wealth.”

These facts do not vary significantly in the United States. Professor G. William Domhoff, of University of California at Santa Cruz has posted his study on the internet. His conclusions are remarkably similar to Pareto’s 80-20 Principle. In 2001 20% of the population owned 84.4% of the nation’s wealth. The top 1% owned 33.4%. Similar to Pareto’s theory 80% of the population owned a mere 15.5%.

Living in Los Angeles most of my life has enabled me to see both the very rich in Beverly Hills and the homeless on Skid Row. My wife was is in shock as I walk with her from the Central Library to the famous Grand Central Market. She saw all those drunks and homeless lying next to building walls and was astonished by my cavalier attitude. Why wasn’t she shocked by the palace my sister built in Calabasas?

The inspiration for the column is Business Week’s December 8, 2008 publication of THE 50 TOP AMERICAN PHILANTHROPISTS. It was nice to learn about the money that these people had contributed to society. However, the listing in the published version of this article also provided the current net worth of each person and the “Lifetime giving as % of net worth.” What shock that data was! Warren Buffet was ranked number 1 with a current net worth of $50 billion. He has given 82% of net worth.

Unfortunately too many of these very wealthy people believe that leaving their multi billion dollar estates to the family is the right thing to do. How many billions do they need to live comfortably? Three good examples are David Koch who has a net worth estimated at $19 billion. He has donated $623 million or 3% of his wealth. Michael Bloomberg, mayor of New York City, with a $20 billion estate has contributed 8% of his wealth. What will he do with the remaining $18 ½ billion? Kirk Kerkorian with $11.2 billion has contributed 9% to humanitarian causes.

The list does indicate four people who have donated amounts significantly greater than their current total wealth. The leading individual is Veronica Atkins, widow of Dr. Robert Atkins, has donated $882 million and still has an estate of $60 million. That is enough money to support her and many of her children and great grand children in a very comfortable style.

Perhaps there ought to be a limit on wealth. At least there could be requirements on the use of the wealth of billionaires. The problem is who could draw those requirements?

Big City Politics is For the Politically Connected

Managing city governments is a difficult job. The public decides every four to six years who will be their spokesmen. If a city councilman, mayor, or other elected official believes he has the support of the public there is no way another politician or a citizen with good ideas can stand in the way. Los Angeles has known some serious battles between elected officials. The outcomes are not easy to predict.

Michael Bloomberg has been given the right to run for a third term as mayor of New York City, even though there are term limits, because he has the public’s confidence. It’s the reason that FDR successfully ran for president four times.

Richard Daley has been mayor of Chicago since 1989 because when all is said and done the public really likes the way he manages that city.

Yesterday the superintendent of public schools in Los Angeles saw his four year contract canceled after just two years. He really never lived up to expectations. It’s also true that the mayor wanted control of the schools and tough politics added to his demise. Mayor Antonio Villaragosa is popular with the public. That Superintendent David Brewer is Black had no bearing in the decision. Los Angeles has had a Black mayor, Tom Bradley, and he was a popular figure.

No Innovation Means No American Manufacturing

It appears that the Detroit auto makers will be given some kind of loan to help them through their hard times. Considering the possible consequences if there is no aid, Congress has little choice. In the long run all three of those companies will have to change in very significant ways. If they do not, they will have to be allowed to die.

Every Friday the Los Angeles Daily News has a section entitled DRIVE. It is all about new and unusual vehicles. This past Friday’s edition reviewed the new Ford Flex. The car reminded the reviewer of an old panel truck. The difference is that it looks somewhat like an old station wagon. For those too young to remember, a station wagon is really an SUV on a car chassis. The result is that station wagons provide the ride of a car along with the space of an SUV.

I have owned two station wagons. The last was a 1983 Chevrolet Malibu. The Flex’s V6 engine and the space for five reminded me of the Malibu. What really caught my eye was the gas mileage. The Flex offers 16 city and 22 highway miles per gallon. That was the mileage I obtained on that Chevrolet. This lack of innovation is the reason that the Detroit auto makers now sell less than 50% of total car sales in America. How many billions of dollars will the United States government spend on this incompetent industry? Perhaps the lack of innovation is the real reason American manufacturing has been in decline for the past 30 years.

Why We Live Here

It’s Southern California. The only place there is snow is in the mountains. The cities have unbelievably mild winters where 70°F temperatures are common in the winter. The coldest winter nights seldom go below freezing (32°F). Today the temperature was 50°F at 8 a.m. and reached 71°F. Most of us know how fortunate we are. I was born in Canada. Thanks Dad!

This article from the local newspaper says it better than me.

Need a reminder why we live here? Just step outside

By Susan Abram, Staff Writer

Updated: 12/01/2008 11:03:03 PM PST

If you’re feeling a little down from all the bad news lately, just look up and let the amber glow of the sun melt your worries away.

Not bad for December, huh?

It could definitely be worse. This is how The Weather Channel describes what’s about to descend on parts of the nation:

“A polar cold front howling southward out of Canada tomorrow will hurl snow and wind into Montana and northern Wyoming – a true meteorological shock …”

That’s right, howling and hurling. It’s dipping into freezing temperatures in the Midwest. That means if you leave a can of pop on a Chicago or Milwaukee sidewalk for too long, it’ll explode under pressure. Apparently, soda hates the chill, too.

And New York?

Fuggedaboutit. Step outside without layers of wool and that slice of pizza you scarfed down for lunch will give you a bad case of “agita,” Italian-American slang for heartburn.

Meanwhile, temperatures in Los Angeles are expected to take their time falling to somewhere even partially resembling winter.

The mercury will drop from a high of 80 on Monday to about 74 today.

Weather forecasters say we can expect much of the same the rest of the week across most of the San Fernando Valley.

Take that, Cleveland!

susan.abram@dailynews.com 818-713-3664