The Great Society
BY HARRY RING
Hurry--Only a few vacant apartments remain in Sterling International Towers in Los Angeles. So, if you need a pad, check it out. They're "the pinnacle of elegance." One, two, and three bedrooms from $10,000 a month to $30,000.
The something-for-everyone system-- West Bloomfield Township, a wealthy suburb of Detroit, now enjoys the distinction of having the state's first Ferrari dealership. You can't afford a $140,000 Ferrari? No problem. This dealership is also offering Ferrari T-shirts, baseball caps, and toy replicas.
Fare hikes? Perish the thought-- "Airline industry mega-mergers: How would consumers fare?--Some analysts say three giant carriers would mean lower prices, more destinations. Others foresee labor, service problems." Los Angeles Times news analysis headline.
Meanwhile--Ninety-three construction workers were killed on the job in California last year, the highest industrial toll in the state and nation.
$afety--"After 25 years of research and internal debate, NHTSA [Nat'l Highway Traffic Safety Administration] has yet to take effective action on vehicle rollovers which killed an estimated 10,133 people on U.S. roads last year, the greatest toll in at least a decade."--Los Angeles Times.
Wait, there's more--"NHTSA has not substantially revised its standard for fuel tank safety in more than 25 years despite the agency's finding that thousands of deaths and injuries occur annually in fire-related crashes and that the standard is ineffective."--Los Angeles Times.
The hard-to-beat system--In San Francisco, where runaway housing costs are the norm, and parking as scarce as the proverbial hen's teeth, Peter Overmire, 71, paid $100,000 to add a garage to his modest-size home. Back in the '70s he paid $69,000 for the house.
The greatest-- "In America, you are not required to offer food to the hungry. Or shelter to the homeless. Or to visit the lonely. In fact, one of the nicest things about living in America is that you don't have to do anything for anybody."--That's from an ad by a fund-raising agency that says people do give time and money, but more can be done. The ad was sent to us by a prison inmate, with a terse comment, "Is this a great country, or what?"
Keep up the good work--While we haven't maintained this column on a regular weekly basis, we continue to receive--and appreciate--clippings from readers. Help increase the flow. Send items to Great Society, c/o Pathfinder Books, 2546 W. Pico Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90006. Fax to (213) 380-1268.
|
