Not too long ago, teacher training seminars promoted a book explaining the differences between the classes. One of the most memorable distinctions was how the middle class valued work and paying bills, whereas the lower class put entertainment first. It did not take much of a brain to see that the leisure class could afford not to work because the working class was footing the bill.
And so, as manufacturing is a thing of the past, the news is often replete with articles about how Asheville will become the next Austin, Milwaukee, Las Vegas, or maybe all three. People are not merely going into business, they are promoting grand schemes to transform the economy with gambling, drinking, music, and other celebrations one might expect the peasants to be doing in a Bruegel painting. Why, marketing vice and pleasure to stimulate the economy has even become a role of the federal government.
