Moody Center
Ventura's Oligarchy Sentiments Motivating but Filled With Resentment
RECEIVED Fri., June 4, 2010
Dear Editor,
Michael Ventura’s Oligarchy segments are motivating, although filled with blame and resentment. His final piece has substance [“Letters at 3AM: In the Margins of Oligarchy,” June 4]. In the second segment [“Letters at 3AM: A Paradox of Oligarchy,” May 21], Michael properly touts the success of the GI Bill but forgets that for every positive government program, there are far too many failures. Michael pinpoints the root cause of California’s failure as Proposition 13, which reduced California property tax revenues. The good news for California is that thanks to Proposition 13, the per capita property tax burden ranks California 28th. That brought about a boom in California's economy over the next several decades. During that time, the state government embarked on a spending binge and eventually found itself unable to fulfill its spending commitments. Michael identified this condition as “riches going to Top Tier and the Professional Tier,” but I call it bad governance. As to the question: “If I am not my brother’s keeper, what am I?” We are all our brothers’ keepers, but the devil’s in the details. As one anonymous American once said, “Welfare should be a safety net, not a hammock.” We all want a better world, but in Michael’s last article, he discounts that goodness exists in the Top and Professional Tiers, even marginal goodness. Let me define another Tier. Those who seek only to take from those who have and will never contribute themselves, those who are filled with envy and hatred, those who blame others for their wrongdoings, those who live only to destroy, those who strive to impose their will upon others and have no respect for freedom, the Extremist Tier. There is no doubt that the Extremist Tier can be readily sourced from every Tier, and that is the Tier that should bear your resentment for making this country “no longer what it was.”
Michael Ventura’s Oligarchy segments are motivating, although filled with blame and resentment. His final piece has substance [“Letters at 3AM: In the Margins of Oligarchy,” June 4]. In the second segment [“Letters at 3AM: A Paradox of Oligarchy,” May 21], Michael properly touts the success of the GI Bill but forgets that for every positive government program, there are far too many failures. Michael pinpoints the root cause of California’s failure as Proposition 13, which reduced California property tax revenues. The good news for California is that thanks to Proposition 13, the per capita property tax burden ranks California 28th. That brought about a boom in California's economy over the next several decades. During that time, the state government embarked on a spending binge and eventually found itself unable to fulfill its spending commitments. Michael identified this condition as “riches going to Top Tier and the Professional Tier,” but I call it bad governance. As to the question: “If I am not my brother’s keeper, what am I?” We are all our brothers’ keepers, but the devil’s in the details. As one anonymous American once said, “Welfare should be a safety net, not a hammock.” We all want a better world, but in Michael’s last article, he discounts that goodness exists in the Top and Professional Tiers, even marginal goodness. Let me define another Tier. Those who seek only to take from those who have and will never contribute themselves, those who are filled with envy and hatred, those who blame others for their wrongdoings, those who live only to destroy, those who strive to impose their will upon others and have no respect for freedom, the Extremist Tier. There is no doubt that the Extremist Tier can be readily sourced from every Tier, and that is the Tier that should bear your resentment for making this country “no longer what it was.”
Ronald P. Landry