Against the "Golden Ticket" View of Prosperity
What about those who don't have Charlie Bucket luck?
I’m currently in three online debates that are all basically the same thing: They’re all about the well-being of a visible few at the expense of a less-visible many.
The Long Island Railroad strike pitted literally the best-compensated transit workers in the country against New York taxpayers. That didn’t keep some people from trying to cram the story into the “downtrodden workers versus greedy fat cats” narrative, which is like trying to do the “plucky underdogs win championship” narrative for the LA Dodgers.
A report that hotel maids in New York will make $100,000 by the end of their next contract has sparked a debate about whether that’s a good thing or a bad thing. Though any reasonable person has sympathy for hotel maids, who play the Harvey Keitel in Pulp Fiction role for the unspeakable acts we commit in hotel rooms, when travel to New York becomes more expensive, the city’s economy takes a hit.
My piece arguing for reducing mail service generated some (polite) pushback on the grounds that mail service creates jobs. And it does do that, and that’s great for the Cliff Clavins and David Berkowitzs out there, but taxpayers pay those salaries, so it seems fair to ask if that’s the best use of our money.
