Thursday, July 27, 2023 | 2 a.m.
Any wealthy person who becomes friends with a sitting member of the Supreme Court and lavishes him with trips is not doing this purely out of friendship.
The problem with such friendship isn’t so much a direct influence on court cases, but that justices are spending so much time hanging around their wealthy friends that they adopt their attitudes.
In other words, the members of the Supreme Court can feel rich, act rich and think rich without being rich. They thus tend to believe that the poor are lazy, and the wealthy are job creators who deserve less regulation and taxation. This would not be such a problem if the court just stuck to the facts when deciding cases, but their opinions contain a lot of social engineering, which is perverted by their having the attitude of being wealthy.
Our country is being ruled by the wealthy. The emphasis on fundraising and use of unregulated PACs shows the huge influence of money in our elections. The Citizens United case gave corporations the right to give unlimited money to influence elections. It was a direct result of the court’s wealthy attitude. The ruling made no sense since corporations artificial entities formed for conducting business.
The court doesn’t care about poorer people who need an abortion, protection from overzealous police, affirmative action or student loan relief. Now we know why.
If such justices did not have the “right” attitude when appointed, they would after enough yacht and private jet trips.
