Economists and progressive politicians have been talking about "rising income inequality," and we all sort of know what that means: the rich get richer and the poor get poorer. The disparity is greater now than any time since just before the Great Depression.
Never more stark in the news, however, than now. Contrast the news about cutting the food stamp program, about states cutting education budgets, and about unemployment with the art auctions taking place now and in the near future.
Just yesterday, Christie's sold a Francis Bacon painting for the highest price ever for a painting sold at public auction: $142,405,000. It surpassed the record price paid last year at Sotheby's: $120,000,000 paid for Edvard Munch's "The Scream."
Upcoming auctions and the anticipated prices: A Rothko for up to $35 million, a Warhols for $40 to $60 million, a Koons steel sculpture for up to $55 million. And it goes on.
And for some of the truly wealthy people, this is little more than pocket change. Meanwhile, Republicans want to cut the social assistance programs even further, saying "we can't afford them."
Ralph
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