Shame On Us

I don't know, but it just seems that in a modern industrial democracy, this should not be:

PONTIAC, Michigan....For the past few days, Tristan Williams has spent part of every afternoon at the Blue Note Cafe here, not only for the chicken wings but also for the warmth, electricity and hot water in the men’s room. He has none of those where he lives in a row house not far from this city’s modest business district, about 30 miles northwest of Detroit.

For several hours on Monday, Mr. Williams, a college student and janitor, was the cafe’s lone customer, charging his cellphone and using the free computer. He searched the Internet for a battery-operated home heater and a better job. He could not find either.

“So many things are closing because of the economy, even the schools,” said Mr. Williams, 19, who helps support his two unemployed parents as the city seems to be crumbling all around them. “We want something better, you know. At home, our food is spoiled.”

Investment bankers and CEOs basically steal us blind for billions of dollars, Bernard Madoff remains living in his penthouse, and we don't seem to think it matters, that it's basically okay because, well, that's just the free market, that's just the way the rich are?

Not shame on them, shame on us.