Feeling he was among leftists, brother-in-law let it rip. He watches Governor Cuomo's press conferences every day and man, does he pay attention or what? He was able to recite all of the talking points with a vigor usually reserved for descriptions of sporting events.
The ranting was so thick and fast that all I could do was absorb it. Even if I had wanted to respond, my replies would have been weak.
One of the main points of contention from the governor is the need for the rest of us to bail out New York state. Their finances are in a real mess. Also, according to the rant, New York pays way more in to the Federal government than it gets back. Kentucky, on the other hand, gets more than it pays.
Driving home, I finally had some peace and quiet to process this. I don't know if it's true or not, but let's assume it is. What does it tell you? Since everyone has the same Federal tax rates, what it tells me is that New York is wealthy and Kentucky is poor.
That makes sense. Kentucky gets its money from mining and agriculture. New York is the financial center of the world. What exactly was Governor Cuomo saying? "I have a very wealthy state and I still can't manage to balance my budget! I demand that the coal miners in Kentucky send me some money!"
You can understand his point. Those investment bankers and stock traders have to worry about their summer homes and yachts. The upkeep on those things isn't cheap, particularly when you need to refinish the Asian hardwood on the taffrail. And think of the maintenance costs for their swimming pool! The one at their house in the Hamptons, not the one in their Manhattan condo complex.
Yep, it's high time those hillbillies paid their fair share. After all, how can the governor of New York, surrounded by Elites, many of whom are financial wizards, be expected to balance a freaking budget?
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| Some of the miners smoke and they all wear blackface all the time because they're racists. New Yorkers should get their money for those reasons alone. |
Yes, I think that sums up the problem I have with big financial centers like New York and London: they aren't wealthy because they make anything or because they perform a skilled service. They are wealthy because they are custodians of a big pile of money, which they basically let other people use in exchange for collecting rent on it. This doesn't take spectacular skill or intelligence or an innovative approach, it just requires that you start with a big pile of money and don't do anything too rash when deciding who to loan it to.
ReplyDeleteAnd this leads to a situation where these bankers start to think that we all *owe* them that money, and if they lose some of it they use the political influence they have been buying all these years to try and claw it back. And since they have enough foresight to build up controlling influence with both parties, they always end up getting it.