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There is probably no point in appealing to the Shrubites on the basis of human compassion. Their level of comprehension of the nature of human civilization was arrested at the stage of “I have clubbed an antelope to death, and I will keep it for myself, even if it rots before I can eat it all myself.” It never occurs to them that if we cooperate as a group we can more easily kill antelope, and if we specialize, then maybe someone can make shoes while the others chase antelope. No, this rudimentary level of civilization is beyond their comprehension.
(1) Before abandoning any vestige of a safety net, how certain is even the richest of you that you will never lose your job or make seriously disastrous investments? Any number of NBA players can tell you how to lose millions and pay an investment consultant for the privilege. In fact, some of those who reacted to Lutton’s article may be the very “investment consultants” who have led their customers into financial ruin.
(5) Every American will suffer when parking lots pave every wetland, when no unspoiled natural beauty remains, when the air is unbreathable, when our children are slowly poisoned by mercury in the water, when the national forests have all been clear-cut. Every American will suffer when we have no oil left and no alternative source of energy, just because short-term profits dictated this imbecilic policy. Every American will suffer as the U.S. economy continues to plummet. Wall Street analysts may be so stupid that they quote the daily Nikkei stock exchange average to seven significant decimal places, but they are not so stupid that they do not worry when a buffoon appoints himself president and declares that he will take a budget surplus and immediately give it away to rich people. Bush has already begun to plunder the social security trust fund to pay for his vacuous tax breaks for the superrich and the oil companies. The sad thing is that the oil companies were already making huge profits, and the superrich have more money than they know what to do with.
