I've written a few talks on the disparity between the rich & the poor--how, for instance, "the top- fifth of working Americans took home more money than the other four-fifths put together"--but what is the effect such a disparity. Or, so what if if one person per five earns more money than the other four people put together? Well here is one of the effects of such a disparity, and I am quoting from a 1991 New York Times magazine article: "In many cities and towns, the wealthy have in effect withdrawn their dollars from the support of the public spaces and institutions shared by all and dedicated the savings to their own private services. As public parks and playgrounds deteriorate, there is a proliferation of private health clubs, golf clubs, tennis clubs, skating clubs, and every other type of recreational association in which costs are shared among members."
Public parks and playgrounds are deteriorating. In some cities it is unsafe to go into a public playground at night -- and the rich have figured out what they should do. They've poured their money into private clubs, safe spaces for the elite few. I don't blame them; I'd do that too. Why risk injury to your child if he is playing in a park filled with broken glass -- and that was exactly the kind of park that was available to my one year old in New York. We never took him out to play in that park. If I were rich I too would pour my money into private health clubs, golf clubs and tennis clubs: that makes sense--but that deprives four out of five people: they don't have the money and they must see their chi9ldren play in unsafe public spaces. As the article goes on to say, "The number of private security guards in the United States now exceeds the number of public police officers."
When we read figures we don't see consequences. We think, let the rich get rich -- after all, I might get rich someday and I want the right to keep the money I earned. I understand such a wish -- but the upshot of such a philosophy in a capitalist society is that when the one out of five have lots & lots of money, they divorce themselves from the other four out of five -- they withdraw their dollars from the support of public spaces shared by all & dedicate their money to private spaces shared among members only.
The term gated community makes the concept clear -- and some astonishing number of Americans now live in gated communities. The term says it all: the gate keeps the unwanted riff raff out; the space inside the gate is reserved for the chosen few--and the chosen few pays tons of money to keep their space clean & pretty & safe--and since they pay tons of money for their private realm, their pretty Shangri La, they vote down any taxes for the public realm -- the dangerous, dirty place called the public realm.
Gated communities keep you and me out--and outside of those gates life is noisy & dirty & dangerous & crumbling. You know that America's infrastructure -- roads & bridges & parks -- is crumbling. Why? Because the rich few are pouring their money into a privately shared infrastructure. I don't blame them -- but something must be done. It is not fair that four out of five people are kept out -- and "out" is unpleasant & dangerous.
Copyright © 2004 Henry Morgenstein