Photo: Oscar Hidalgo for The New York Times
In a previous post on the scandal at Walter Reed this site reported on the penchant for those who benefited from George W. Bush’s tax cuts to blow their money on expensive bottles of wine–many of them costing more than both my cars put together. Now from the New York Times comes a story about the latest way the rich burn money–on backyard toys, specifically fancy barbecues, what the articles terms “fireplaces,” and outdoor sound systems powerful enough to make a rock promoter green with envy.
The article is accompanied by a picture of these tax-cut big spenders, Doug and Janis Weintraub, standing in front of their $60,000 “fireplace.” The monstrosity towers sixteen feet high and looks like the chimney for a blast furnace, which in essence is what it is. The wood in the fireplace is only for effect, for this behemoth uses gas to in essence heat these people’s backyard. The couple admits that it does get a bit cold in the winter but they like to watch the “fire” from inside their $2 million house. What they need to watch for is Al Gore suddenly emerging with a fire extinguisher to put out this egotistical contributor to global warming.
Now you die-hard Republicans are probably thinking that at least some out-of-work mason made some money off this couple’s ridiculous addition, but no, the article reports the fireplace was built by a stonemason from the Ukraine. So much for the GOP’s stance on immigration. When we spend our tax cuts on silly toys we employ the best Europe can supply.
But in the tax-cut money burning world, where keeping up with the next millionaire stands as a major priority, the Weintraubs have a way to go. The Times‘ article reports, “A contractor in the San Francisco area, Tony Bertotti, built an $80,000 fireplace as the centerpiece of a $750,000 patio that was recently named best landscape in the state by the California Landscape Contractors Association.” Another couple with a $13 million house tops the Weintraub’s chimney by six feet, while a third sports a complete outdoor kitchen.
About the same time these tax-cut money burners were enjoying their $60,000 flames viewed from their multi-million dollar McMansions, five immigrants from Mali were laid to rest in their homeland after a house fire killed five family members. Fatoumata Soumare, her 7-month-old twins, Harouma and Sisi, 3-year-old son Djibril and 6-year-old daughter Hassing were killed in a house fire on March 7 in the Bronx that claimed 10 in all, including five from another Malian family who were buried last week in New Jersey.
Fire officials blamed a space heater with a frayed wire. So here we have ten deaths because people could not afford to heat their house except with a defective space heater, while the beneficiaries of the Bush tax cuts are building huge outdoor fireplaces that do nothing other than warm the air in their backyards.
If ever we had an example of what is wrong in America today this one should be right up there. The beneficiaries of the Bush tax cuts say they need their extra millions so they can help build the economy, but how do $60,000 fireplaces constructed by Ukrainian masons or $20,000 bottles of wine help the economy?
By the way, for those who are interested, the 2006 Bush budget cut funds for both heating assistance and aid to local fire departments. But the president refused to consider cutting back on his tax cuts, you know, the ones that people use to build $60,000 backyard fireplaces. “The administration’s failure to provide dollars for Medicaid, local law enforcement, housing, heating assistance, education and other key programs falls far short of what we need,” said New York Senator Charles Schumer as he discussed the impact of the Bush budget on his state.
Specifically would someone please explain all this to Mamadou Soumare, whose wife and children were the ones buried in Mali. This family came to America as so many other immigrants have, expecting to find a land of opportunity, but instead they found a country under the control of a political party that detests immigrants and believes the poor should fend for themselves. Instead of opportunity they found only death trying to keep warm in a world that has grown cold to the plight of those like them.
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