Twenty-five years had passed since the Watchdog had last vacationed at Palm Beach, Florida and he looked forward to strolling some miles along the macadam bicycle path that snakes between Lake Worth and stately multi-million dollar homes and estates.
There was only one noticeable change, but a big one. In the past, front yards of the homes were separated from the path by low walls or hedges, allowing cyclists, joggers and pedestrians to admire the houses and for the owners and their guests to gaze across the lake.
Now the hedges had been allowed to grow from their former approximate 4 feet in height to around 7 feet, shielding the homes from the glances of those along the path. Furthermore, hedges were planted in a manner to prevent even a slight view of the homes through the gates.
The Watchdog mused at how symbolic this is of the changes that have occurred over the past three decades, as the earning differentiation between the rich and the middle class has enlarged. While real incomes of the middle and lower income groups have remained static since the 1980s, the real earnings of the top one percent have increased tenfold.
Such a gap in income creates a chasm between the top ½ of 1% in earnings represented by these lake front home owners, and the rest of society. Is it hubris or perhaps guilt, or a combination of both that caused the change in their attitude about privacy?
Consider that the high hedges weren’t just preventing bystanders from looking in. They were preventing the home owners from enjoying their lakefront view from the lawns, porches and first floor, the big factor in their choice and cost of their location! Now they could only enjoy the view from their second floor bedroom level.
The Watchdog and wife were pleased to see that one owner along a two mile stretch had preserved the low hedges so that they could watch the occasional pedestrian, child or bicycle pass by as well as the lake view from the porch. The Watchdog felt empathy for what he presumed was a fellow curmudgeon!
