Working Up

by Dwayne Phillips

The rich-poor gap widens in the area of travel. Seeing other places and other people is a big experience that the rich enjoy and the poor lack.

I live in Fairfax County, Virginia. This is one of the richest counties in America. I noticed recently that the kids in high school and college in Fairfax County travel to other countries.

When I graduated college, I had been to Tijuana to shop for novelties. I was poor in experience and knowledge of other places and other peoples. About the only way that the poor in America travel to other countries is to go fight a war. That isn’t much fun and seems to present a one-dimensional view of other people.

Is this a big deal? In some ways it is. Should we do something about it, i.e., should we have government travel subsidies for the poor? I don’t think so. I do think we should recognize what is happening and understand how this affects the outlook of people.