Quote of the Day (Tony Judt, on Why ‘The Rich Do Not Want the Same Thing as the Poor’)

“The rich do not want the same thing as the poor…. Those who do not need public services—because they can purchase private transport, education, and protection—do not seek the same thing as those who depend exclusively on the public sector.”— British historian/essayist Tony Judt (1948-2010), Ill Fares the Land (2010)

The next few weeks may bring about the ramifications of this in the Republican tax plan now unveiled on Capitol Hill. Maybe the hit to the state-and-local tax deduction—especially common in states such as New York and New Jersey, which tend to fund public services more generously—will help leave this bill dead on arrival. We shall see. But, far from “draining the swamp” in DC, this bill only leaves the alligators—those in the 1%--more alive than ever.