https://l.smartnews.com/p-6HG88ThS/GUBwZY <


Every time we let these people take the controls, America veers off the road |


Opinion Thom Hartmann <


One of the greatest gifts Donald Trump and the 13 billionaires he pulled into his administration have given America is the reminder, finally and once and for all, that just because somebody is rich doesn't mean they're smart. Par- tina, iftha, inheritad thairatantina <


Wealth in this country has become so intertwined with our mythologies of genius, des-tiny, and merit that we've ended up elevating into near-sainthood (and electing to high office) some of the least thoughtful, least competent, and least self-aware people ever to walk a boardroom floor. It's a dangerous confusion, and one with deep roots. I still remember a conversation on my radio program back in 2009 with Bill Gates Sr., one of the kindest and most grounded men I've hosted on the air. He told me, matter-of-factly, that while his son Bill was indeed a very smart guy, he also had the sort of upper-middle-class safety net that most Americans could only dream about. Had Bill Jr. been born poor, Gates Sr. said, the trajectory of his life (and the existence of Microsoft) would likely have been very different. <



Talent exists everywhere; opportunity does not. That's true for the brilliant, and just as true for the average or below-average minds who happen to be born into staggering wealth. Privilege - not genius - is what insulates foolish people from the consequences of foolish decisions. Trump's casinos went bankrupt even though casinos are literally engineered to make mon-ey. He claimed windmills cause cancer. He altered a hurricane map with a Sharpie rather than admit he was wrong. His incompetent handling of COVID caused the unnecessary deaths of hundreds of thousands of Americans and now he's up all night ragetweeting. Musk blew $44 billion on a website he's turned into a global punchline, called a Thai cave-res-cue diver a "pedo" because the man contradicted him, and cheer-led the destruction of USAID. an act that has severelv damaged