Welcome to Richistan, USA

[EV_Ares]

The American Dream of riches for all is turning into a nightmare of inequality. But a backlash is brewing, reports Paul Harris in New York: From The Guardian/Observer

On the surface, Mark Cain works for a time-share company. Members pay a one-off sum to join and an annual fee. They then get to book holiday time in various destinations around the globe.
But Solstice clients are not ordinary people. They are America's super-rich and a brief glance at its operations reveal the vast and still widening gulf between them and the rest of America.

Solstice has only about 80 members. Platinum membership costs them $875,000 to join and then a $42,000 annual fee. In return they get access to 10 homes from London to California and a private yacht in the Caribbean, all fully staffed with cooks, cleaners and 'lifestyle managers' ready to satisfy any whim from helicopter-skiing to audiences with local celebrities. As the firm's marketing manager, Cain knows what Solstice's clientele want. 'We are trying to feed and manage this insatiable appetite for luxury,' Cain said with pride.

America's super-rich have returned to the days of the Roaring Twenties. As the rest of the country struggles to get by, a huge bubble of multi-millionaires lives almost in a parallel world. The rich now live in their own world of private education, private health care and gated mansions. They have their own schools and their own banks. They even travel apart - creating a booming industry of private jets and yachts. Their world now has a name, thanks to a new book by Wall Street Journal reporter Robert Frank which has dubbed it 'Richistan'. There every dream can come true. But for the American Dream itself - which promises everyone can join the elite - the emergence of Richistan is a mixed blessing. 'We in America are heading towards 'developing nation' levels of inequality. We would become like Brazil. What does that say about us? What does that say about America?' Frank said.

Article continues @ link below:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/usa/story/0,,2132017,00.html

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[R_M]

1. It got this bad in just 6 and one half years.

How much more damage can * do?

[MikeNearMcChord]

2. While I am reading this

I am listening to the song "We Can't Make It Here Anymore" - by James McMurtry. This song ought to be the anthem of the Bush Years.

[Doctor_J]

3. We're headed for some sort of adjustment

I am not sure if it will be a stock market crash or a general strike or what, but something big is going to be needed to right the ship. I hope I'm around to see it.

[Sen. Walter Sobchak]

4. maybe it is just where I grew up... but this is nothing new to me,

I was most concious of it in the late 80's. Although I grew up a few miles from Newport Beach, so maybe they were just ahead of the curve. People seemed to think that gross excess was making some sort of political statement.