“Thus much of this will make
Black white, foul fair, wrong right,
Base noble, old young, coward valiant.” – Shakespeare’s Timon, on discovering gold 

“Absolutely speaking, the more money, the less virtue.” – Thoreau 

                  Among the many soul-curdling initiatives of America’s soulless administration is (deep breath now) “Accountability in Higher Education and Access Through Demand-Driven Workforce Pell: Student Tuition and Transparency System (STATS) and Earnings Accountability” – a rule as difficult to stomach as to say. It denies student loans to programs that don’t enrich their graduates more than a high-school diploma might. It’s slated to take effect July 2027.

                  In other words (to cut to the chase), the profitability of a program reflects its value to society. Thus, for money managers and dentists, a helping hand; for musicians and grade-school teachers, a kick in the teeth.

                  Capitalism, humanity discovered in the nineteenth century, powers economic growth amazingly. It also leaves the weak weaker and poor poorer unless they’re protected by the prosperity of the entirety. Hence, the welfare state, which America gradually introduced and refined during the twentieth century, invariably to our plutocrats’ disgust. Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, food assistance, student aid, regulatory codes and countless other conscientious programs would kill the golden goose, we were assured; meanwhile our state got decenter and our goose goldener.

                  Greed, like the other deadly sins (pride, lust, envy, gluttony, wrath, and sloth, if you’re keeping track), ridicules reason, twisting language to justify appetite. The optimal society, the plutocrats insist, encourages the rich to get richer and the poor to suck it up – or vanish if they can’t compete. Kindergarten teachers are paid less because they’re worth less – q.e.d.!

                  History proves this approach as wrong-headed as it is wrong. The despair of the deprived gathers into revolt. The old order is wrecked when its successor runs amok.

                  America’s second Revolution – and yes, it’s a revolution – pits the Haves against the Have-Less. The rich, while less numerous, mean to wallop with their wallets, overwhelming decency with mischief and lies. Lack of competence, not conscience, will doom the plutocrats, the price at the pump more persuasive than any pang of the soul.

                  The rebuilding of America will require moral reengineering. The wellbeing of our citizens, not the wealth of the wealthy, must predominate our concerns. Right, justice, fairness, truth must cease being laugh lines. Best for most must overrule more for me.

                  Money without morality is a moron. It grabs and gobbles till it bursts. It despises democracy for inefficiency without acknowledging the incompetence of overconfidence. In a few days, I predict, the plutocrats will wake dumbfounded by the degree of their failure. But they will regroup – the rich always do – for their greed is insatiate.

                  Can America recover our moral bearings? We were never angels – democracy is inefficient, no question – but we were better, wiser, than we’ve been. Can we come to see government as guardians of all, not defenders of a well-heeled few?

                  Maybe. But to fix ourselves we must face ourselves. We must confess how far we’ve veered from an ideal state. The new student lending rule is but one symptom of our moral rot. We must prize kindergarten teachers, caregivers and violinists for their contributions and not despise them for their failure to plump their bottom lines. That the super-rich have won the lottery doesn’t make the rest of us losers. No human needs billions, much less a trillion. But our kids’ teachers surely need to eat.

                  If you haven’t voted already, vote. Remind your friends, drive others to the polls. With our vote as with our voice, use it or lose it.