Thought this was a pretty nice Gucci bag.
Large decorated bee with expansive wings on the flap.
Beautiful pink with white pearl studs.
Brass chain and red, white, and blue shoulder strap.
Priced around $1500!
Small shoulder bag yet plush oversized and ornate make a big statement.
Nice gift for that special someone or to treat yourself to Gucci! 😉
(Credit Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
So we stopped in this gallery in Palm Beach.
And there lay this piece of “art”.
Well, I’m not sure–is this really art?
The proprietor explained that this is made up of scrap pieces of metal from the garbage dump like from old discarded automobiles.
The artist welded the garbage together, painted it, and voila there it is–some very pricey art.
Who pricey you ask.
Take a guess.
No really.
No, you’re too low.
Try again.
No, you’re still too low.
Not even in the ballpark.
Okay, I’ll tell you, but only because you asked so nicely.
It starts with a 95.
No, not $9,500.
No, not $95,000 either.
That’s right $950,000!!!
All this “art” can be yours if the price is right.
Can anyone say “irrational exuberance” again? 😉
(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
So I ran into this lady in downtown Washington, D.C.
She posed for the picture and made sure to line up the top and the bottom posters to get it just right.
It says:
“Not One Penny In Tax Cuts For The Rich”
Makes intuitive sense doesn’t it: the rich already are blessed with…riches!
Any more pennies in their war chest is sort of a drop in the billionaire bucket.
With tax reform is on the table now…we need tax relief for the middle class and to grow the economy.
The rich really do not need to get any richer.
Especially with a national debt over $20 trillion already–and not including future entitlement obligations that exceed projected revenue for social security and medicare, which bring the debt in excess of $70 trillion!).
The gamble with this whole tax reform plan is that the $1.5 trillion or so in proposed tax cuts over 10 years translates into a much bigger economic expansion that makes up for that revenue loss to the government and more.
If not, well then Uncle Sam bet wrong and our annual deficit gets bigger and bigger (already $666 billion in FY 2017).
Tax cuts for the rich today and estate tax cuts to pass wealth between generations–when they impact the top 1% are ridiculously targeted to those who really don’t need it, and many of the decent ones, like Warren Buffet, don’t even want it.
Let’s have a heart and help the people that really need the help–let’s narrow the growing divide between the haves and the have nots, and move to eliminate the class system that elevates one child of G-d over another.
– While some live in McMansions, others are homeless.
– While some eat steak and drink expensive bottles of wine every night, others go hungry and thirsty.
– While some wear fancy designer clothes, expensive jewelry, and different outfits every day, others don’t have a clean shirt on their back.
It’s nice to think that some “deserve it” more than others, but we also have to think who really needs it more.
And if the pennies do ultimately come from Heaven (as all blessings do), then let us distribute these with compassion and lovingkindness as we know our Creator would want us to. 😉
(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
andyblumenthal 