[Moneyguy1]

Chris

Although far-fetched to some, most revolutions have come about when class differences reach a certain flash point. As been pointed out before, even the Romans understood that and used the principle of "bread and circuses" to mollify the hoi polloi. The French revolution; the Russian revolution...A truly self-serving government assures itself against such an eventuality and that takes some degree of sacrifice from the "haves".

The gated community concept is the insulation of the haves from everyone else but I have wondered about this kind of approach since those who are hired to provide the security obviously cannot partake of the lifestyle within that community and soon have mixed feelings about their masters. Sooner or later they join the ranks of the malcontents as well. Municipal workers in places like Garden City Long Island live in Brooklyn; not in the municipality where they are employed because the cost of living there exceeds their ability to pay that cost.

In an ideal society, everyone would strive to reach their potential. Unfortunately, there are no ideal societies of which I am aware. There are impedements at every level: racial, cultural, ethnic, economic to name a few. Some of us have been lucky and, to beat a dead horse, had a helping hand or two along the way. Many have not had this type of good fortune and see no way out. And others, to quote a line from a song in "Grease" "Have the dream but not the drive".

Once again, it comes down to the difference between success and fulfillment. Some people go through life and find success but are never truly fulfilled or satisfied.

Again, we come to the realization that the system is not working; that people are not empowered to seek success or fulfillment. Whether this is by design or by accident I do not know. But, from my point of view, it appears that the system is designed to limit opportunities for all but a few. Blame the educational system; blame the economic barriers raised by bureaucrats, somewhere something has gone terribly wrong and the American Dream is in danger of fading. No matter how much money is thrown into the Small Business Administration or Economic Development, it either is not enough or it is poorly used. Blame selfishness; blame greed. But all the blaming will do nothing to change the situation.