The Emerging Global Elite, Protests, Riots, Martinis, Taxes, and American Patriotism

Middle class riots all over the place, from Athens to Israel and with The Tea Party anti-establishment ascendant over here on the Atlantic's West Side. The people are running a muck with rage. Thomas Friedman explains it away with the suggestion that,

• "Across the world, a lot of middle- and lower-middle-class people now feel that the “future” is out of their grasp, and they are letting their leaders know it." The future is increasingly out of reach, as once safe national middle class communities drop farther and farther behind 
• "The Rise of the New Global Elite,"  a phenomenon Chrystia Freeland traced expertly in a January Atlantic Monthly article. The new growing, global elite is characterized by unprecedented wealth and decreasing connections to country and nation, which is very well illustrated by the rising costs of living high on the hog in Brazil, 
• where martinis are topping $35 and apartments are hitting $10,000 a month in the most coveted parts of Rio, this in large part because those with extraordinary wealth are free to flee and relocate wherever they wish, which makes one wonder why a fat cat as cool and plump as the old Oracle of Omaha would ever be so bold as to propose
• Higher taxes on himself and his friends. He must be some kind of patriot or something, caring for education and health care and basic infrastructure for his fellow countrymen and women.   
• If Americans wish to compete, to excel, to continue to do well and lead across sectors and disciplines, or even simply to remain respectable and not lose ground, we need to get serious about taxes. The global elite leaves. Our schools are here. Our middle class is here. There's no free lunch. To win, play the game. To play the game, educate the next generation. 
• That's just to get started. I have to go to work tomorrow.