Fred Bucheit

Howard

Cal Thomas continues to spread that old propaganda meme that the rich deserve to be rich and the poor deserve to be poor. (Express Oct. 22)

Why is there so much homelessness in this country? Simply because too often an average person working an average job can’t begin to live in this country… unless they want to live in a swamp in the backwoods and grow their own food.

A few years ago, I was in Seattle visiting our daughter. While there I did a bit of exploring. I walked miles and miles in the suburbs and the forests to get a flavor of the west. I often noticed little signs everywhere I went, but they were set back from the street or trail I was on. I checked out a sign and it said KEEP OUT. THIS LAND OWNED BY MICROSOFT. Yes Virginia, the Microsoft corporation had billions of dollars, and they aren’t exactly stupid. They invested that money in land, prime land. I then did a bit of investigating and found this: Through his investment firm, Cascade Investment, Bill Gates owns approximately 275,000 acres of farmland across at least 18 states. This portfolio makes him the largest private farmland owner in the U.S. (Bill Gates has given billions to charity)

Farms grow food, and when there is a monopoly on anything, the price is non negotiable. I also discovered through a local Seattle newspaper article that the average worker for most of the businesses in the city of Seattle can’t afford to live anywhere near the city and thus must have a source of good transportation to get to work. But, the city buses don’t go outside the city, so they have to have a reasonable vehicle…but they then have to pay for gas and to park in the city. It is not cheap. And since Microsoft owns much of the prime land in the area, the poor live 30 miles outside the city on scrub land nobody wants, and they often don’t have services like water and sewer, and sometimes electricity available. And they are often forced to grow their own food because it is expensive. So, they work in Seattle and work at home growing food for their family. Oh wait, who says they deserve to have a family — not Cal Thomas for sure.

Yep that is what happens with a philosophy Thomas spreads. Some people give up and decide, if I can’t make a living at a job then my only option is to live on the streets.

For those who care, the GINI (google it) in the US is one of the highest in the world. The Gini coefficient measures the distribution of income within a population. A higher number indicates greater income inequality. The radical right, through its billionaire supporters, is on a campaign to make the US even higher on that list because the radical right is owned by 13 billionaires (Musk, Karp, Thiel, Bezos, Zuckerberg, etc).

And who benefits most from the government in this country? The richest corporations (and therefore their CEOs) get subsidies of billions of dollars from the government, and then complain when they have to pay taxes. The US military secures the oceans so that our industries can safely sell their products all over the world, but the rich don’t want to pay their fair share of the tab to support that military. And furthermore, slick lawyers and accountants, which only the rich can afford, find ways to avoid paying taxes sometimes by using mysterious offshore banks to store their loot, banks that can’t be accessed by the U.S. government. Last year, Elon Musk’s corporations got 6.3 billion dollars in subsidies, and his wealth increased by 200 billion dollars.

Capitalism does have many great advantages over other systems, but without regulations it eventually becomes a feudal system. All our local businesspeople must compete with other businesses in order to survive, but Bill gates and his type don’t have to compete because they are in the process of buying all the competition. Alex Karp (CEO of Palantir) said “We have no competitors in the US commercial and government markets. Palantir now has hundreds of contracts with the US government worth billions.

I live in a mobile home park. Years ago, all these parks were all owned by local people who personally knew the people who lived there and (the owner) made a decent living with it. Now, most of the parks in the US are owned by what are called private equity firms. They are corporations formed by billionaires who pool their money so they can buy up the competition. They often own all parks within 100 miles of their base, and so there is no competition if you can’t afford to live in one of them. The one I live in has been sold to a person who owns a bunch of them. Our rent continues to increase and our services (water, sewer and garbage) are no longer part of our lot rent. So that is what they do, raise the rent and take away services. The owner lives nowhere nearby and doesn’t care a bit if some people can’t afford to live here. Because of money abuse (greed), we have become disconnected from our neighbor. The billionaires are slowly squeezing us like a python or boa constrictor in order to get another buck out of us.

Ultimately, some people need assistance in order to live, and that assistance is what Trump and his billionaire supporters are desperately trying to eliminate. Most of the people in these parks worked a job all their life, but inflation ate away what little money they have. We have millions of people who daily make the choice between paying the rent and eating. The rich have no idea what rent is or what food costs.

Years ago, I heard an interesting idea, an idea supposedly subscribed to by millions of people, many of whom are Trump Supporters. The idea is this: We are our brother’s keeper. Apparently, we unsubscribed. And Thomas promotes this by demonizing socialism. He needs to practice what he preaches.

As of the second quarter of 2025, the total wealth of the top 10% of U.S. households was a record $113 trillion. The bottom 50% hold 2.3 trillion in wealth. The richest pay little or no federal tax. Ray Madoff (google her) reveals how the wealthy use legal tools — inheritance loopholes, trusts and philanthropy — to avoid taxation altogether.