Addiction

Whatever one thinks of our government, it cannot be accused of indifference to the threat of drug addiction. Not only the sale, use and possession, but even paraphernalia, are proscribed by law. I consider this a case of government intrusion. It’s proper that we be advised of the consequences of our consumption to ourselves. Beyond that we should be on our own. (As self inflicted acts go, I could accept suicide as criminal. A mandatory death penalty would be a nice touch) 

Of course the effect on others as a consequence of our consumption is a different matter, as the DUI litigation that adorns the front pages of most regional newspapers attests. In this respect I’d put money at the top of the list. Many people don’t think of it in that context because this addiction only affects rich people. Less wealthy folks don’t have enough left at the end of the day to develop the habit. Their addiction is perforce limited to the things their money can buy, and they often go unwisely into debt acquiring them.  Not all rich people are addicted. Some don’t object to the relatively minor tax increases being discussed. But most of those who are pressuring Congress to prevent them can afford all the material things they want, and still crave more money, not to spend, only to have. 

In many cases what these rich people covet most is what they can’t buy off the rack, influence and fame. In the latter case we have a man whose name has literally desecrated much of the national landscape. Of the former my most vivid image is an early 80’s picture of Carl Icahn in a weekly news magazine. He controlled one major corporation and was trying to acquire another, U.S Steel and TWA* as I recall. The one word in the caption that struck me was “embattled.” Describing a person who owns, or at least controls, one major corporation, having difficulty acquiring another as embattled is incongruous.

My antipathy towards this sense of entitlement is largely personal. I can’t identify with someone feeling financially unfulfilled while having the money to buy whatever he or she wants and still having enough left at age ninety to provide for several generations of offspring. But I can emphasize with a golfer obsessed with breaking eighty, although I’ve never played the game. As an avid fisherman I’d give it all for my first swordfish.

*I tried to learn which was which from the internet. The only information I could find dealt with Icahn’s financial activity since 2007. He has had a stadium on Randall’s Island (N.Y.C.) named after him.