Under the baobab: How elites in America, locally use their wealth matters
Congrats to Coach Sanderson and the Penn State wrestling team, which continues its reign as the No. 1 ranked program in the NCAA. Since 2011 PSU has won nine national team championships. Sanderson has also coached his wrestlers to 32 individual NCAA Division I titles.
After two Big Ten losses the Penn State men’s basketball team did not panic. Coming home to the Bryce Jordan Center, coach Micah Shrewsberry rallied the troops. Seth Lundy led the charge with 25 points and Andrew Funk scored 23 in the 85-66 victory over Indiana.
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Discussing the origins of the Republic we often center on its Constitutional and ideological beginnings. The debates congeal around the scope and intent of the Bill of Rights, or the balance between coequal branches of government, or the Declaration of Independence and fighting to free the country from the tyranny of iniquitous royalty. Recently in the reconstruction of the American narrative some attention is being paid to what influence chattel slavery, the irrational notion of white supremacy, and gender inequality had in the development of the American reality. Rarely do we discuss how the country’s economics contributed to building the community.
The root ideology of the American economic system is capitalism and the notion that everyone should have the opportunity to accumulate and use as much wealth as possible as long as it is done by legal means. The political framework of America was designed to facilitate this process. This used to legally include the buying and selling of human beings and the redistribution of land negotiated by force from the native inhabitants. It also included gains gathered from the contractually arranged labor of others.
This has resulted in wealth being concentrated within a small percent of the people. One percent of the U.S. population controls about 23% of the country’s wealth. The top 10% controls about 70%. There are almost 25,000 millionaires and over 700 billionaires in the U.S.
Most people are OK with this process. They believe it may not be the best possible system but it is the better of the alternatives. However we tend to make moral judgments about how rich people spend their money. We applaud philanthropic efforts like Bill and Melinda Gates using their wealth to eradicate polio and malaria in Africa or to address climate change while we criticize Elon Musk for manipulating the stock market with Twitter or putting together his personal shuttle for a jaunt to space. But, we recognize it is their choice.
Recently I worked on several projects with new Black billionaire Tyler Perry. He is using his fortune to help rebuild Atlanta and to restructure the film industry. He has built one of the largest film studios in the country, TPS, by converting Fort McPherson, an old Confederate military post. He is not only producing his own films but helping others, particularly African American film directors, produce their projects and fulfill their dreams. Perry has also made life better for some of us “old heads” by treating us with dignity and respect.
“The way we should have always been treated but never were,” he says. He hired Cecily Tyson to film for a single day and paid her a million dollars. TPS also provides thousands of jobs to people in Atlanta.
In our local community there are many folks who have used their wealth to do good things. Donald P. Bellisario gave millions to the College of Communications. Others like the Palmers and Paternos have funded buildings and programs that have helped make Penn State into one of the top universities in the world.
Democracy encourages participation by all the people. Capitalism tends to consolidate power and resources in the hands of a few. With the later we must rely on the charitable inclinations of the elites to do what benefits the community.