President Bill Clinton
By Davy V.
Former President Bill Clinton came to Brighton, New York today.
Brighton, New York is a suburb of Rochester, New York, and where I have called home for nearly 20 years.
A small town of about 35,000 people.
President Clinton was joined by a couple of Billionaires.
Tom Golisano, the founder of Paychex Corporation.
Net worth: $6 BILLION.
And Terry Pegula.
Net worth: $9.3 BILLION.
If the name Terry Pegula sounds familiar, it should.
He's the owner of the Buffalo Bills.
He also threatened to move the NFL team out of New York State if New York taxpayers didn't cough up nearly half of his new fancy $2.2 BILLION football stadium.
It worked.
Taxpayers paid $850 MILLION.
The largest ever taxpayer subsidy for an NFL stadium.
Tom Golisano
Terry Pegula
President Clinton was in town to give a speech for the graduating class of the Golisano Business Institute.
Of course, I'm sure he didn't come for free.
I'm sure he was paid his commanding fee for speeches, which is $250,00 to $500,000.
I want to be clear about something.
I have nothing against President Clinton.
Me and my family voted him, and I think he was a great President.
But this isn't about that.
This is about something else.
Something I find myself being more and more aware of as I get older.
And that is the disparity that exists in this country, between the haves and the have nots.
Let me explain.
On that stage in Brighton, New York, two old decrepit white men, Tom Golisano, and Terry Pegula are worth a combined $15 BILLION.
$15 BILLION DOLLARS.
Left to Right: Terry Pegula,
Tom Golisano, and
President Bill Clinton
Tom Golisano and President Clinton
Tom Golisano
And I couldn't help but to think of something.
That just a couple of miles to the north of where those two Billionaires were sitting next to President Clinton, is my hometown, Rochester New York.
One of the poorest cities in the country.
Rochester, New York, where the child poverty rate is 42+ percent.
Rochester, New York, where every night thousands of young children go to bed hungry.
Rochester, New York, where veterans who served this country, sleep in cardboard boxes and makeshift tents underneath Interstate 490 overpasses.
Rochester, New York, where school teachers have been forced to buy their own school supplies, because the corrupt Rochester City School District has stolen millions.
Rochester, New York, a city which has been plagued by violence for decades, including several mass shootings which still remain unsolved.
Rochester, New York, a city led by an incompetent millionaire Mayor Malik Evans.
And as I scrolled social media and saw the news reports about President Bill Clinton coming town to give a graduation speech, and how he was joined by Billionaires Tom Golisano and Terry Pegula, I just couldn't help but to immediately think of this extremely disturbing juxtaposition:
Two old decrepit white men worth a combined $15 BILLION dollars, sitting next to each other.
And just a few miles away:
Rochester, New York, one of the poorest cities in the U.S.
Maybe it's just me.
But have you ever stopped to think about the disparity that exists in this country between the halves and the have nots?
I know I do.
All the time.
President Bill Clinton came to my town today.
He was joined by a couple of old, white decrepit Billionaires.
Billionaires who have more money than they know what do to with.
So, teachers in Rochester, New York who are under appreciated and who don't get paid nearly enough as they should, will continue to buy their own school supplies for their classrooms.
And those veterans who served our country will continue to crawl into their cardboard boxes and makeshift tents underneath the interstate.
And tonight, in Rochester, New York, one of the poorest cities in the U.S., where the child poverty rate is 42+ percent, those same children will go to bed hungry again.
One thing's for sure though.
All those Billions.
And they won't take a single penny with them.
Rochester, NY: One of Poorest Cities in the United States
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