Like most people, I have always aspired to live a comfortable life. I wanted a nice house. I wanted to travel. I tried to raise my kids in a beautiful setting. I wanted them to go to good schools. I wanted enough money to do these things and more.

I guess I got enough money but not nearly as much as I wanted.

But now I am thinking that was a blessing.

When you see two recent examples of billionaires gone mad, you should realize that money is a curse. Money in the amounts that the ultra-rich possess is not just the dollars in their investment, it’s the hubris in their moral life account. It’s the feeling they can do anything, and it can’t be wrong, no matter what they choose to do. Morality is for the poor, after all.

We had one billionaire accused of going to a massage parlor which had been implicated in sex trafficking. Then, you have another who had been charged years ago, given a ridiculously light sentence only to be arrested on new charges when he got off his plane in New Jersey. This guy, “likes them on the younger side,” according to one of his well-placed buddies, the president of the United States.

But this billionaire is bipartisan in his friendships as former President Clinton is also counted among his pals.

If there was any concern about restricting free speech by curtailing the ability of the wealthy, individuals or corporations, to donate uncontrollably to politicians, perhaps now is the time to get over it.

Do we want pedophiles to have a role in determining who is elected to serve the people? Do we want pedophiles to be protected from prosecution and detection by these same politicians?

I guess the Supreme Court does because they had a chance to restrict money’s hold on politics and politicians but resorted to protect the rich and fuck the poor.

How many times has the fall of the Roman Empire been evoked when discussing life in America in the Twentieth Century? Now, here we are in the Twentieth-First Century, and the demise of the American Experiment seems possible.

While Democrats discuss bussing in the ’70s, immigrant children are being held in prison away from their parents because they are from Latin America and not Norway.

Guns are out of control as is the NRA, but God forbid we have a rational gun policy.

It’s all about money, which is power. It’s never about what is best for the nation. It used to be said that what is good for General Motors is good for America. Those were the days.

Now, as long as we all get a good return on our IRAs and 401Ks, these crazy politicians can do what they want. Religion can no longer supply the moral guidance to help us identify right from wrong. Religion has lost its appeal and ethical foundation. Whether it’s the power of the Catholic Church concentrating on its own damage control necessitated by its own sex scandals or the Evangelicals who have been co-opted by its own narrow focus on abortion and the Supreme Court. There is no great American Moral Leander anymore.

ROI has superseded GOD.