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 |    My primary Writing.com blog. |
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Logocentric (adj). Regarding words and language as a fundamental expression of an external reality (especially applied as a negative term to traditional Western thought by postmodernist critics). Sometimes I just write whatever I feel like. Other times I respond to prompts, many taken from the following places:  "The Soundtrackers Group"  "Blogging Circle of Friends " "Blog City ~ Every Blogger's Paradise" "JAFBG" "Take up Your Cross" Thanks for stopping by!  |
| In my last blog post, I took a somewhat critical look at America, so I suppose it's only fair that at least one of my other blog posts this month also takes a critical look at somewhere else. No country is perfect and, while the UK certainly isn't, I read an article this this morning that shined a light on a very particular and disturbing quirk of the UK's system of government: How Royal Estates Use Bona Vacantia to Collect Money from Dead People In short, bona vacantia (Latin for "vacant goods") is the process whereby the government can take assets for themselves from private citizens, if there is no will indicating where those assets should go, and no next of kin can be located. And without getting into the "well how hard is the government really looking for next of kin if they stand to benefit should no one be found?" of it all, this sorta makes sense on its face. If nobody can be found to pass the assets onto, then the government can claim them. Here's the problem in the UK. There are two places where that money doesn't go to the Treasury, but rather into the pockets of royals. The Duchy of Lancaster (owned by the current monarch... currently King Charles III) and the Duchy of Cornwall (owned by the heir apparent... currently Prince William). Which means that, in addition to all the wealth and assets the royal family has access to through the monarchy, King Charles and Prince William also have this additional income (which is considered their "private income" but not subject to any kind of taxes or other income-based regulations of other people) that they receive. To give you an idea of the scope, it's estimated that King Charles III's annual payout from this income was £26 million last year. Since the 1980s, the Duchies have maintained that the money collected from bona vacantia has been donated to charity, but this article from the Guardian which says, "However, only a small percentage of these revenues is being given to charity. Internal duchy documents seen by the Guardian reveal how funds are secretly being used to finance the renovation of properties that are owned by the king and rented out for profit." So, I suppose the "charity" they're donating to is... themselves? To minimize expenses and maximize profits? The article goes on to say:Three sources familiar with the duchy’s expenditure confirmed the estate was using revenues collected from dead citizens to refurbish its profitable property portfolio, making considerable savings for the estate. One said duchy insiders regarded the bona vacantia expenditure, which has until now not been publicly disclosed, as akin to “free money” and a “slush fund”. I don't know about you, but when the people doing the actual shady money stuff call what they're doing a "slush fund" that's usually not a good sign that what they're doing is on the up and up. And, as usual, it's become problematic because it's been taken way too far. It's one thing if the laws of a country have this bona vacantia rule specifically for the Duchy of Cornwall and the Duchy of Lancaster. That is what it is. But then they had to take it a step further and misrepresent how those funds are being spent, claiming they go to charity when they're really being reinvested in the organization that's supposed to be sending those funds to charity instead.  It's really sad to me that corruption is so rampant among the wealthy. That "because we can get away with it" is an apparently acceptable rationale for doing unethical (or in some cases blatantly illegal) things in the name of increasing one's wealth. Our socioeconomic system is already set up in a way that unfairly benefits the wealthy; it really riles me up when I read articles like this that show that all that privilege and access still isn't enough and that wealthy people have gone to even more extremes to maximize their income and net worth. The monarchy has come under a lot of criticism lately, and this seems like yet another bad news cycle they're about to (deservedly) endure for sketchy practices that should not be a thing. |
| I thought this would be an interesting blog topic because, if I'm being totally honest, there's a lot of stuff that I don't love about America right now. Despite being an optimistic for the most part, there's a lot of stuff happening in this country that I find really discouraging. I don't love the fact that our courts seem hellbent on the broadest possible interpretation of the second amendment to allow unfettered access to guns (even while the number of annual mass shootings continue to increase), while simultaneously offering the most limited interpretation of personal and voting rights to deprive people of access to legal recourse against those in power who make the decisions. I don't love the fact that income inequality is so pervasive that the middle class is slowly disappearing and it's becoming increasingly harder for average Americans to do basic things like save money, or buy an affordable home. I don't love that fact that corporations have more protections and mechanisms for bailing themselves out of trouble than people do, and that private equity firms are buying up resources and, in some cases, entire industries left and right and, by and large, making them worse consumer experiences in the name maximizing return on investment. I don't love the fact that American exceptionalism is so rampant that criticism of the country is often conflated with being unpatriotic, or even anti-American. People wave American flags around (or wear them on their lapels in the case of elected officials) as a symbol of the things this country stands for, without actually working to uphold those ideals. Or the fact that we apparently have entire "days" like this, dedicated to encouraging people to affirm and celebrate the greatness of America (often while avoiding the tough conversations about bad things that have been done in America's name over the years). With all that said, I can't really imagine living anywhere else. There are a lot of things that I do love about this country, like the fact that you can pursue pretty much any life you want. That's not a guarantee you'll succeed of course, or that it'll be easy... but there are very few hard restrictions on the kind of life you choose to pursue. Somewhat related, but I also love the fact that you can pretty much start over anytime. You can be twenty years down the road of a particular career and there's nothing stopping you from moving across the country to start a completely new one. While I think there are a lot of qualifiers and a lot more hurdles than there used to be for a lot of different types of people, I do still believe in the American Dream, and I believe in the independence that this country grants its citizens to (by and large) live the kinds of lives they want to live. I also love the fact that this country is so diverse. From its geography to its people, to its industries, there are few places that have more variety to choose from. You can visit mountains, oceans, deserts, plains, forests, swamps, and any number of both natural and man-made sights without ever leaving the country. You can find communities of people from dozens, even hundreds of other countries all around the world. For me personally, I love living next to a large city where there isn't just a variety of ethnic foods to try, but there are a variety of ethnic communities to try that each of dozens of restaurants, retailers, houses of worship, and other features that truly allow you to immerse yourself in another culture without having to go anywhere farther than a different neighborhood. And America is a leading contributor to so many different industries, from finance to technology to entertainment to medicine to real estate to manufacturing. No matter what your profession, you can probably find an employer in America that's near the top of the field. America is a place that I really do love. It most definitely has its problems, and I have a real problem with people who pretend like it doesn't, or who ignore fair criticisms and aren't interested in making improvements... but as a whole, I'm proud of the things this country has accomplished and the things it could still accomplish. That's why I still vote. It's why I still care passionately about who my elected representatives are, and what they stand for. It's why I get frustrated or even angry when I feel like we're taking backward steps politically, culturally, financially, or in any of a variety of other ways. Just like the "dream" that America lends its name to, success and upward mobility are possible if we can just figure out how to stop doing the stuff that's holding us back (and in some cases, hurting us). |
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