Billionaires Beat the Ballot

George Will assesses the American Dream's current state of democracy in New York City: "Any child can grow up to be a billionaire, thereby meeting what seems to have become the threshold qualification for mayor." New York's most likely alternative to current billionaire Mayor Michael Bloomberg this election may be billionaire John Catsimatidis, owner of the Gristedes supermarket chain, who is the child of Greek immigrants and a college dropout. After opening his first grocery store, Catsimatidis "began opening and buying other stores, then the buildings they were in, and after branching out into oil, airlines and other stuff, the next thing he knew he was rich enough to be restless, a condition that, in the very rich, sometimes is a precursor of a political itch." The "less harmful billionaire" may, however, not face his richer rival (Catsimatidis is only No. 220 on the Forbes 500, compared to Bloomberg's 25) head-to-head. Will says he might only run if Bloomberg's proposed hike in taxes and new tolls are sufficiently unpopular to convince him not to seek a third term.