They hide the stores in Palm Beach Gardens.
Down Donald Ross Road, Central, Military Trail and all the other main drags they require about 30 feet of palm trees and lower-level foliage between the road and commercial areas. So, you really can’t see the grocery store, Walgreens or even Dunkin’ Donuts from the road. Even the Exxon gas station sneaks up with a short display sign (about six feet tall) right before its car-wide driveway.
You see, Palm Beach Gardens, Florida looks down on folks from the ‘other Palm Beaches,’ such as those common people at Mar A Lago. I grew to appreciate the grocery parking lot where a Bentley convertible sat next to a very high end BMW or a Range Rover big enough for a military squad, with gear.
We picked our hotel because it came highly rated and sits just over a mile from Roger Dean Stadium where the Cardinals hold Spring Training. The gourmet breakfast buffet and free shuttle (well, one must tip) to the games iced the cupcake. Fortunately, my wife and I acted like we belonged… Nonchalantly drop a $50 bill for two bags of chips and a three liter bottle of water and a passersby realized you are of them.
A couple of stories in last Sunday’s (3/5/26) New York Times caught my eye:
It’s Good To Be A Billionaire, Even When Tax Time Arrives
Basically, tax laws (especially under the Trump regime) favor the very wealthy, especially the way America has long taxed earning instead of wealth. “The income tax is for working people. So is the payroll tax…”
“America First’ and American Debt Don’t Add Up
At last count the national debt is inching closer to $40 trillion. We finance that debt by issuing bonds “IOU’s” which are not taxed. A really rich person can invest in that debt and similar items and bring in significant money without any tax burden.
Here’s an even more sobering fact from the Federal Reserve System. The top 1% of Americans ranked by wealth hold 31% of our money. The bottom 50% share 2.5%. [Federal Reserve Distribution of Household Wealth in the USS Since 1989, 1/16/26]
Yup. The rich are different. They have more money. (I realize I stole those quips.)
Spending eight days living with them I’m afraid I didn’t learn much new about human nature among the fiscal elite. Even trophy wives get mad when they only want one pint of Ben & Jerry’s but the ad clearly says ‘buy one, get one free,’ not 50% off of one.
Perhaps Peggy and I appreciated the waiters and cleaners a tad more than some with us, but, not enough to stand out.
Oh, our last morning in Palm Beach Gardens did have a glitch. The hotel’s preferred limo service Cadillac (cabs? not for them) failed to arrive at the appointment time. About 40 minutes later a Lincoln Navigator arrived for our trip to the airport. We must all deal with sacrifices, mustn’t we?
Glenn Koenen
Photo source: Palm Beach Gardens website.