The Top One Percent Travels in Style.

We hear a lot these days about the problem of income disparity in this country. It’s a serious issue and it’s discussed in a variety of ways: how much of the country’s total wealth belongs to the “Top One Percent” or that the 17 Walton heirs are worth more than the bottom 40 percent of the population. Essentially, it’s an effort—worthwhile and necessary, I think—to present information in a way that ordinary folks can understand without needing a degree in economics.
 

 
Here’s a photo that does the same thing. It appeared on New Years Eve in our local newspaper, the Maui News, and shows more than 30 private jets parked at the Maui airport. The airport manager says that sometimes they actually run out of parking space and the overflow has to be sent a hundred or so miles away to the Kona Airport over on the Big Island. It’s like this every year over the Christmas/New Year holiday.
 
As a matter of curiosity, I wonder what percent of the Top One Percent is here on Maui at this very moment. Do you suppose these are the same people who object to having their taxes raised? Maybe. But I’m afraid I find it hard to feel much sympathy for anyone who has the wherewithal to fly to Maui in a private jet.