DAVID BROOKS

Illustrative editorial. (For those still in the thrall of 'MacNeil Lehrerism'.)

Brooks' 'grinds', unfortunately, would be more likely to light a fire under him than for his image of America to light one under them, for just the reasons he gives, and others I won't go into.

Perhaps a little less oversight of princes' fiefs, would assist the grinds to better achieve profits, in the periphery way out there, (to allude to one of Braudel's models), far outside, and down from, the 'Casino', as another editorial puts it?

Or, see yet another author's recent editorial, "America Builds An Aristocracy", for more on new princes, and when you get a minute, review the history and details of the 'Rule Against Perpetuities'; that will be a heads' up on technical legalese for those interested in that sort of twaddle.

I sympathize with all those princes, grinds, and all those in between, who would like their great grandchildren and their children and their childrens' children, to be comfortable, in their distant world of the future;

but princes, especially, should perhaps consider, yesterday, what kind of world the US has already become; and what stability there would be for such distant future offspring, based on how things have come to look in the here and now, for some decades now have been looking, and on how things appear to look in the immediate future, not even 10 years from now, never mind the amended Rules Against Perpetuities in over half the 50 states, whether 90 years or 'forever', but rather, for example, perhaps, the day after tomorrow.

A revised or repealed rule against perpetuities, enacted by various several states, may be worth nothing, will definitely be worth nothing whatever to shelter assets, without a lot of drastic reforms, in the intervening 90 years, and probably much sooner rather than later, in that time.