The New York Times published several letters today in response to a piece pointing out how outrageously high doctors' incomes are in the U.S. compared to the rest of the world, and suggesting this might have something to do with high medical bills and huge insurance premiums.
The responses, mostly, are what you'd expect: We've earned it.
It may seem like a big leap to go from that to the bridge collapse in Minneapolis, but it's not, really.
Unfettered avarice and ostentatious displays of wealth are nothing new, and certainly not a uniquely American trait. Roman emperors and French kings may have erected lavish monuments to themselves, but at the same time they built roads and sewer systems, creating and maintaining a workable infrastructure.
In this country, at this time, wealth is prized above all, and it's not to share. The Bushinista's jawdropping tax cuts to favor the wealthy are the most obvious examples of this, but not asll the blame can be laid at their feet. Ever since Jimmy Carter was thrown out of office for daring to suggest we would all need to sacrifice a little for the good of the country, we as a nation have decided we owe nothing. Any politician can score easy points against a rival by saying they want only to tax and spend.
But to survive, you have to spend, and where will a nation get the money if not through taxes? How else can roads and bridges be maintained, or adequate armor be provided for our soldiers? Where will this money come from if we all have the attitude that we must make more and more, and never give any of it away?
