Commentary

Shopped some big-box stores in the Big City last weekend and was enjoying striking up conversations with fellow, wild-eyed men who were making a valiant attempt at not-last-minute Christmas shopping.

One guy I encountered was deep in the giant discount store and still had nothing in the shopping cart. I marveled at how he got clear to the back of the store without being compelled to throw something in the cart. His answer, on this last weekend of shopping before Christmas, was that he and his wife had only a short list of things to pick up.

That’s just wrong, isn’t it?

Another guy was trolling the kids clothing section, also with an empty shopping cart. The thousand-yard stare said it all.

The thought occurred to me that every store in every city, town and village is abundantly stocked, not only at this time of giving, but all year long.

It spurred the memory of a story told me by the late Earl Roberge, a remarkable individual who was a professional photographer in Walla Walla and author of several coffee-table books.

Earl was a unique person, drove a Jaguar XKE and had a big watch that he had worn since his days in the O.S.S. That’s about all he had to say about that.

I don’t believe there was any topic that he couldn’t speak to for at least 30 minutes. A remarkable man.

Speaking of speaking, he spoke fluent French, and that’s where this recollection ties in: during the 1970s, a contingent of Russian engineers were visiting the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in Walla Walla, and Roberge was enlisted to help with communications. There were no Russian interpreters around, and none of the Russian group spoke English, but one spoke French.

So Earl was the interface between the English-speaking engineers and the Russians, via the French language.

Roberge told this story: At the end of the day, he was still “on duty,” serving as cultural escort to some of the Russians. They went to the long-time Walla Walla grocery story, Fleenors, and were walking up and down the aisles.

“Is setup,” the Russian said to Roberge, mentioning further that the Americans have artificially stocked this one grocery story to give the visiting Communists the false impression of the United States as a land of excess.

Earl squinted a glinty eye at the visitor, bristling at the accusation that he was party to a disinformation plot. With great conviction, Roberge informed him that, no, every store in this city is similarly stocked, unlike the U.S.S.R.’s megastore GUM in Moscow, where komrades stand in line for hours to get the meagerest of provisions…if anything at all.

No, Roberge went on, the Americans were not deceiving their guests in any way; this was capitalism at its best.

Yet in today’s political climate, certain Independent presidential candidates have promoted the idea that wealth should be redistributed; we hear in the news that many across our land are in favor of socialism as a cure for the “ailments” of our society.

They’ve grown up in a capitalistic society, with all the benefits and comfort ascribed. Then they imagine an even better life in a society where health care is free, where there’s the social welfare program of guaranteed minimum income, where everything’s just peachy.

The problem is, things won’t be the same, if they get their wishes. There will be many unintended consequences. Health care might be “free,” but it won’t be the health-care system we now, for lack of a better word, “enjoy.” Taxes will go into orbit. Look at the socialist countries in Europe: tax rates in The Netherlands range from 36.65% to 51.75%; Spain and the U.K. are 45%; Italy 43%.

Why did Beatle John Lennon move to New York City? To shield his income from the British government! At the time of his death in 1980, his estate was growing at $200,000 a day.

The lesson Roberge taught in that Walla Walla grocery store is as valid today as it was then.