To the editor:
Remember Elon Musk jumping up and down on the stage like a little kid? Do you know what was really happening there?
It has taken America’s new aristocracy over a hundred years of biding their time, but they have finally arrived. Fortune Magazine (2-23-25) says, “The 1% want to stand out after years of being stealthy with their public appearance and money.”
Basically, the new, permanent aristocracy in America has declared victory over the middle class and the working poor. They are now flaunting homes, yachts, gala events, and doting on their new political privileges and immunities. They feel very secure that no one is going to regulate their wealth ever again in America.
Over a hundred years ago, the Robber Barons attempted to become a titled nobility in America. They failed because of the “progressive” regulatory movement. However, the de-regulation movement beginning in the 1970s loosed long-standing progressive curbs on monopoly, eased corporate income taxes and estate taxes, jacked up consumer interest rates, and turned the progressive income tax structure into a regressive structure. Our 1% class has been learning how to act like Britain’s wealthy aristocratic nobility ever since.
The Fortune article talks about “fur pieces, luxe fabrics, and bolder prints” for the women and “leather jackets” for the men. The article explains this as a “growing hunger for individualism.” Not really. The luxury class now wants to let everyone know they are an untouchable superior class that has all the political power.
Kimball Shinkoskey
Utah
