Love Dreams & Blintzes
(In reply to Moss Hart’s & George Kaufman’s You Can’t Take It With You)
A libertarian fantasy,
Giving up the nine-to-five,
To live for art, untaxed and free,
In a sprawling, zany hive.
These rocketeering gals and gents
Devote themselves to fun
By living off of unearned rents,
And dating the boss’s son.
Watch out ! Here comes the Government !,
To pry through this and that,
The chocolate boxes spread dissent –
But they won’t get-back their hat.
Sucking-up to the duchess,
To the beat of the xylophone –
A community of the self-obsessed,
All far too rich to moan.
A black maid serves up ev’ry perk,
And cornflakes for their tea –
But what if she chose to give-up work ?
Why, then where would they be ?
A fairytale of carpe diem,
Laissez-faire unbound –
They may not take it with them,
But they won’t spread it around.
In a strange way, the play (from 1936) shows a future world of Universal Basic Income, only it’s set in a world of depression-era unemployment and poverty which it floats above, all while ignoring the very real suffering happening down the street. The extended Sycamore family are extremely privileged, and though they claim to be apolitical, they definitely want the Government to leave them alone with its tax and fireworks regulations and preventing the spread of violent revolt – all the while sneering at the working drones who hate their jobs while having absolutely no concept on how those people have to work to afford basic food and shelter (maybe even in one of Grandpa’s houses, breaking their backs to afford to pay him their rent so he can swan-around snake-hunting in Westchester).
Rhyming Couplets 