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We might all be in the same ocean, but we are definitely not in the same boat. Anyone who thinks Americans are all in the same boat have been spending too much time drinking rum in the ship’s galley. Political elites fly around in their personal jets, and sail aboard their personal yachts. We commoners trail behind in dinghies. Political elites continue to say we are all in the same boat in a feeble attempt to keep us quiet. It has taken decades, but the elites have successfully recreated the societal structure that caused the Revolutionary War. They insist they aren’t royalty. Their actions suggest otherwise.

I will put forth a few instances where our elites have blatantly, and purposefully, separated themselves from we, the great unwashed. You’ll undoubtedly think of other instances where elites in our society created two tiered systems. For the sake of brevity I’ll discuss some rules, and laws, that were intended only for us. It will become clear that we are NOT all in the same boat.

The first example is the current fiasco that is the COVID crisis we are facing right now. Americans, and our government, were smart to take necessary precautions against this unknown killer. In March of 2020, we were told to stay inside, to go nowhere other than for emergencies, for 15 days. We were told that would “flatten the curve” and keep hospitals from being overrun. We couldn’t go out to eat or get our hair cut. We were not allowed to go anywhere without masking up. Meanwhile Governors were seen dining, without masks, with large donors at fine restaurants. Mayors, and members of Congress, were seen getting hairdos at closed salons. In Michigan we were ordered not to leave the state. Immediately following that order, our Governor took an unannounced trip to visit her father in Florida. Elites were seen disobeying their own mandates weekly. Members of Congress were flying to Mexico, or attending large weddings, and riots. We are now approaching the 2 year anniversary of those mandates. Many states have been, and are still, in one form of lockdown or another. Hundreds of thousands of small businesses have been permanently closed. Taking with them the hopes, dreams, and life savings, of countless Americans. All the while big box stores, the ones capable of making 7 figure political donations, remained open. Those mentioned above were hardly in the same boat with the mom and pop shops forced into bankruptcy.

We closed our public schools, initially out of ignorance. Later the closures were the result of fear, and stupidity. Our children have endured nearly 2 years away from their teachers and friends. We may never know the long term damage done to those children. What we do know is that during that time the suicide rate, and the instances of depression, have skyrocketed among school age children. Politicians and the media have continued to feed us half truths and lies. Even in the face of dire health reports, teacher’s unions continue to shirk their responsibilities to students. Every teacher who refuses to fulfill their obligation to our kids should be fired. Given that teacher unions are among the largest contributors to the Democrat party, I’m not holding my breath. School closings don’t have the same impact on our elites that they do on we poor folk. While our kids were at home fake learning on a computer, children of the elites were in front of teachers in the private schools that remained open. Tens of millions of Americans were forced to subsist for many months on government unemployment checks. Government employees, including teachers, never missed a paycheck. They stayed home and received their full salaries. Their spending habits never changed. Their credit ratings were never threatened. Does that sound like we are all in the same boat?

Democrat Governors and Mayors have been working to reduce the law enforcement presence in our larger cities. In the face of record breaking criminal activity their response is to, as they say, “reimagine” law enforcement. That is, reduce the size of their police forces. At the same time, irresponsible prosecuting attorneys are listing the different crimes they will no longer prosecute. In New York city you can now use a gun to steal from someone. You will be released in 24 hours as long as you don’t shoot your victim. The fact is they are not authorized to decide which laws they will prosecute. Their job is to prosecute the laws the legislature passes. They do it anyway. Most of the changes made by all of these elected officials have an immediate negative impact on we serfs. Most of us don’t live in gated communities. Most of us aren’t able to afford, or be provided with, security details. These people don’t care that the majority of Americans want more, not less, police presence. Most of us don’t want bullies released back into our communities to wreak havoc on the weak. Unfortunately when you live in castles surrounded by moats, and armed guards, you can’t be troubled with the troubles of the peons.

Next I’ll mention a couple of laws. Back in 2012, Congress passed the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The ACA, also known as Obama Care, was touted as the greatest thing in health care reform in at least a generation. It made outlandish promises that never came to pass. We were told we could keep our Drs., and our health plans, if we wanted to. False. We were told our premiums would be reduced by an average of $2,500 per year. Premiums actually went up. Democrats told us we would be forever grateful when we saw how wonderful the plan was. They spent months going from coast to coast bragging about how great the plan was. In the end the bill was passed on a total partisan basis. Every yes vote was cast by a Democrat. The Senate only passed the bill after promising a mountain of money to then Nebraska Senator Ben Nelson to help pay for Medicaid reimbursements. He then voted yes. Within days of the bills passage members of Congress were asking President Obama to find a loophole that would allow them an exemption from one particular section. Tax payers pay for about 70% of federal employees health premiums. This particular section would have required Congress, and their staffs, to pay an additional $5-$10,000 of their premiums. Congress moaned that this would be too onerous, and would cause good employees to leave. They were not the least bit concerned that that would happen to private sector employees as well. Ask and ye shall receive. When pushed about the exemption, members of Congress insisted they didn’t get an exemption. Remember that the largest group of legislators in Congress are attorneys. Congress said it was not a special exemption, it was they said, a form of “special treatment.” Why don’t I feel better?

One last preferential law I’d like to mention. There are severe fines for you and I for what is called insider trading of stocks. Insiders are typically those who have access to information about a company that is not available to the public. You’d expect corporate execs to be the most likely to have such information. But nobody has more consistent access, across a broader range of companies, than members of Congress. They are responsible for passing, or not passing, laws that can make or break entire industries. Until 2012, members of Congress were nearly immune from being prosecuted for inside trading. Then CBS News “60 Minutes” ran a scathing piece on congressional insider trading in 2011. Public awareness created the need for Congress to act. In his 2012 State of the Union address President Obama called for Congress to set this right. He said, “The powerful shouldn’t get to create one set of rules for themselves and another set for everybody else.” Everyone, other than our elites, have understood this forever. In April of 2012 Congress passed, and President Obama signed, the Stop Trading On Congressional Knowledge (STOCK) Act. Smiling members of both parties stood behind Obama in admiration of their work. The truth is the bill was like most of their work. It came decades too late, it didn’t go far enough, and included no serious enforcement mechanisms, or penalties. To that point, The Insider Report says that there have been 48 violations of the Act committed by members of Congress, and another 182 by high ranking staffers. Why wouldn’t there be? To be legitimate the bill should have denied members the right to trade in any company, or industry, upon which they could have a direct influence. The bill included a provision that mandated members of Congress, the administration, and certain high ranking bureaucrats, list any securities trade they made online for constituents to see. That was required within 45 days of said trade. With far less fanfare, Congress amended the bill one year later to change that provision. The change made it possible for members to report trades via a paper form filed in D.C., instead of reporting it online. That little change made it nearly impossible for constituents to keep track. of the elites trading activity. These people have no conscience.

When you hear someone say we are all in the same boat, you can be sure it is not being said by, to quote Leona Helmsley, “the little people.” (She was not referring to dwarfs). We are asked to cut back on our gas usage, and to reduce our thermostats, to save the planet. All the while elites fly from one of their mansions to another in their private jets. The fact that gas prices are through the roof is a positive to the elites, if it keeps us from driving to see grandma. They can afford it. Elites sit in their ivory towers with absolutely no way of understanding the problems that most Americans face every day. They view us as subjects, not as citizens. Same boat my ass! I hope this post was informative. If you enjoyed it please tell your friends. Thank you, Bob