Im disappointed in New Haven--as I so often am--and not particularly interested in complimenting Toni Harp, although I appreciate the decency of many friends and neighbors in doing so. Toni endorsed Gary Holder-Winfield on Friday, and took it back to announce her run on Monday. It is hard for me to respect people who are incredibly wealthy and take zero chances, you know? That isnt my life, that isnt my background, and Im not going to pretend to be sympathetic to it after she wins an election as part of the establishment. The truth is that over the last 20 years CT has seen our income inequality soar, from one of the most egalitarian states in America to one of the least, and Toni Harp, Pat Dillon, Toni Walker, John DeStefano, Jorge Perez, Richard Blumenthal, Dannel Malloy, Martin Looney, and Gwen Mills have been in office for most of that time. Literally, over the past 20 years, weve seen our poorest and least empowered citizens lose agency on a regular basis. When is the last time you saw any of these politicians actually decrease this situation? The answer is never, because, the poorest and the least empowered citizens actually had more agency before their elections. It isnt a national phenomenon: many states have seen a decrease in income inequality during the same period that CT saw a dramatic rise. So long as we have an entrenched and self-serving Democratic establishment--more concerned with life-time employment than electoral options--we will have a system of winners & losers which largely benefits the richest and wealthiest members of our society. Those of us who have toiled and worked hard with our hands have the least say--we have the worst batting record. If youre a grad student at Yale and this annoys you, good. You should be annoyed, and hopefully you are annoyed enough to see the reality around you. Im sick of seeing you talk about representing those of us who havent had the luxury of college or the fake poverty of grad school. Real poverty is uncertainty around your ability to eat tomorrow or pay your rent, not the shame of being unable to afford a gadget or another night out drinking. Im sorry if Im not conciliatory enough, but after 6 months of hearing how anti-labor I am (from people who have never worked with their hands), how rich and entitled I am (from people who I have felt envy of for years), and how ignorant I am (from people whose parents sent them to one of the top universities in the world), Im tired of being polite. If you dont like this, you can unfriend me, and I will neither notice nor care. Good night, and God bless.
Posted on: Wed, 06 Nov 2013 06:35:38 +0000