(Photo above, from CNN, is of William Singer -- the mastermind of the college scandal.)There is a new scandal. This one is about how rich people are paying someone to falsify college entrance exams (by changing answers or having someone take the test for someone else) or faking the supposed high school accomplishments of prospective students. These people want their kid to enter a highly-regarded college, but their kid is either not bright enough, too lazy, or has partied too much during their high school years to earn admission on their merits.
Buying a student's way into college is not new. But in the past it involved a parents donating huge sums to a school to pave the wave. This new scandal is worse, because it involves the rich trying to do this on the cheap by cheating.
About 30 to 50 people have been arrested for doing this, but that is just the tip of the iceberg. The mastermind of the cheating scandal, William Singer, says he has helped upwards of 750 people cheat to get their child in a college.
This scandal is a bit more tawdry than usual, but I can't say I'm surprised by it. And if you are surprised, then you just haven't been paying attention to what's happening in this country.
We are a country that, under the guise of capitalism, have been bought and paid for by the rich. The richest 1% own over 40% of all the wealth in the country, and the richest 10% own over 70% of the wealth. It should come as no surprise that while working and middle class people struggle for opportunity and a decent life, the rich just buy it.
The rich control our educational system, our justice system, our economic system, and our government. We like to think that everyone has an equal opportunity to succeed in this country, but that has never been true -- and it is more untrue now than it was in the past. While most Americans must work hard to get what little opportunity they can achieve, the rich just buy it (and often buy the opportunity than a smarter and harder-working person should have).
It doesn't have to be this way. Their are people (mostly Democrats) who want to change things and give everyone a better shot at success. But the Republicans only favor policies that help the rich to maintain their superior position in our society. Nothing will change until the Republicans are voted out of power.
