September 23, 2003
Welfare for rich white folks
The Feds are giving huge tax breaks to folks who can afford huge wasteful SUVs. This is the resulting attitude:
The national current events picture seems much less doom-and-gloomish when viewed from the elevated cockpit of a sunset orange Hummer.
"I just feel happy when I'm in here," said Barbara Zaccaria as she pulled gingerly into traffic recently, like an adult navigating a nursery of crawling babies.
Zaccaria has heard there are people in California setting fire to Hummers like hers, spray-painting them with terrible slogans like "Fat Lazy Americans" and "Polluter."
"Oh, I don't know that they (Hummers) are so bad for the environment," she says without a trace of defensiveness.
She has noticed, as well, the price of a gallon of gas has been climbing of late. But frankly, she has sold $25-million worth of real estate this year, so putting $30 or more of regular in her tank is a small price to pay.
"It's worth it for the convenience and safety," she said. "Look, you can make the mirrors on each side retract just by touching a button."
Posted by Norwood at September 23, 2003 06:32 AM