The Nation's Pulse
Class Warfare at the Beach
Let them eat potato chips…
SEA ISLE, N.J. — I met Elaine Scattergood for breakfast last week in a little coffee shop on Dune Drive in Avalon, just a few blocks from where Utz potato chip magnate Michael Rice is putting the finishing touches on a super-sized mansion that sits atop the highest dune in town.
Now in its third year of construction, the 40-room, 14,000 square-foot house will have nine bedrooms, 13 bathrooms, a three-car garage, maid’s quarters and a dune-top pool when it’s completed.
Ms. Scattergood, the founder of Save Avalon’s Dunes (SAD), a community group with about 150 members, has been the town’s most visible opponent of Rice’s project. She lives with a cat, parrot and her dog, Francis, in what Philadelphia magazine called a “ramshackle cottage,” a “tattered beach house that’s cluttered with the accoutrements of the intellectually eccentric: mismatched furniture, old flashlights and lamp shades, messy stacks of books, a healthy back stash of Mother Jones.”
Mother Jones magazine is named after Mary Harris Jones, an early-20th-century radical labor organizer, community activist and self-described “hellraiser.” In 1898, she helped found the Social Democratic Party of America, later renamed, more accurately, as the Socialist Party of America.
I asked Scattergood if she was a socialist. “No,” she replied. “I’m been a Republican most of my life. I attended a Republican convention in Pittsburgh.” This time around, though, she went for Obama.
After breakfast, we took a ride past Mr. Rice’s current house, now on the market for $12 million. At 7,000 square feet, it’s one of the largest beach houses in Avalon, located only a few blocks from the new mansion. But it sits next to the dunes, not on top of one. It has seven bedrooms, seven bathrooms, an elevator, a spa and a library.
Not buying the more-is-better ethos, Ms. Scattergood can’t see why the $12 million house isn’t good enough, especially when getting bigger might mean the destruction of a species of rare cattail or an endangered turtle or piping plover.
She described the time she ran into Rice during one of the hearings to obtain approval for the new construction. “Why,” she asked, “do you need a house that large?” She said he replied that his attorney had told him to ask for more than he actually wanted, so in the end, after negotiations, he stated that he got “exactly what we wanted.”
Scattergood labeled Rice’s new house as “hideous” in a 2007 interview with Philadelphia magazine. “We don’t need to look at big houses,” she said. “If you were a thoughtful person, you just wouldn’t do this. You wouldn’t do it for the sake of the environment. Heavens, these people have sold enough potato chips to buy an island somewhere. They could live anywhere without destroying.”
Building a house that’s “going to take that load of electricity and heat is insane,” she continued. “I don’t care how much money you have.”
“It’s a treasure,” Scattergood said to me, speaking of the maritime forests and sweeping grasslands in the high dunes of Avalon. “It’s what defines Avalon. Once it’s gone, it’s gone. What makes life wonderful are the contrasts. You walk through the wilderness and then suddenly you see the vista of the sand and the sea.”
I counted 19 pickup trucks and vans at Rice’s new house when we drove up, evidence that he has become a one-man stimulus package for construction jobs during this especially severe downturn in new home building at the shore. That doesn’t seem to matter much to Ms. Scattergood. I’d guess that she would maintain, Obama-style, that the birds and the people would both be better off if some of Mr. Rice’s millions were taxed away and spread around to create greener jobs in education, health care and the environment.
In another class warfare skirmish at the beach, the United Auto Workers union is running a multimillion-dollar advertising blitz against Bally’s and Caesars in Atlantic City in order to break a stalemate in its negotiations for a first-ever labor contract at both casinos.
In a gaming industry that’s already down some 38 percent this year, the union, in effect, allegedly on the side of “job security” at Bally’s and Caesars, is telling the public to switch to Trump’s.
Responding, the casinos are running full-page ads in the local newspapers with this headline: “Don’t let the UAW turn Atlantic City into the next Detroit.”
About the Author
Ralph R. Reiland is the B. Kenneth Simon professor of free enterprise and an associate professor of economics at Robert Morris University in Pittsburgh.
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PolishKnight| 6.15.09 @ 3:26PM
I'm chuckling about the casino wars the author mentions as an afterthought. I was disgusted, as many poker fans were, at Trump's treatment of Annie Duke in The Celebrity Apprentice. The winner, Joan Rivers, referred to poker players as "trash" and Trump never called her on it.
So it would amaze me if gamblers were to flock to Trump's casinos...
Crusader| 6.15.09 @ 4:34PM
"Don't let the UAW turn Atlantic City into the next Detroit."
Haha! Have you ever been to AC? Go about three blocks due west from the boardwalk and you have Detroit. It is a craphole.
NANCEE COUSINS| 6.15.09 @ 4:39PM
WHAT DID YOU EXPECT FROM TRUMP-LOOK HOW HE TREATED MISS CALIFORNIA- THE NAME OF THE GAME IS MOOLA ROUNGE-AKA "MONEY"!!!!!
js| 6.15.09 @ 6:08PM
Will be buying more Utz chips now.
Richard Baker| 6.15.09 @ 7:50PM
It's ok if he wants the house. No problems there. My only question is building it upon a dune. What goes up must, eventually, come down. Can you imagine his insurance bill for this thing? Let's hear it for Capitalism!
Jim Turner| 6.15.09 @ 11:00PM
This is America (I think) isn't it? It's HIS money and HIS property. HE should be able to build whatever house wants and can afford that fits HIS American Dream. Same goes for all of us!
bobbymike| 6.15.09 @ 11:17PM
Jim Turner - This is Obama's America we are just guests.
Missy| 6.16.09 @ 2:10AM
I understand private property rights and all, but geeez, does he have to be such a big pig?
Mama always told me that money don't buy taste. I think he's a slug.
Seymour Kleerly| 6.16.09 @ 2:10AM
Class warfare? People like Utz (the top 2%) have over 80% of the nations wealth. That's just sick and the fact that working class conservatives accept it, is even sadder.
convention service | 6.16.09 @ 4:49AM
I was thinking of looking up some of them newspaper websites, but am glad I came here instead. Although glad is not quite the right word… let me just say I needed this after the incessant chatter in the media, and am grateful to you for articulating something many of us are feeling - even from distant shores. Please come visit my site auditorium albuquerque convention when you got time.
Importers | 6.16.09 @ 4:51AM
You may have not intended to do so, but I think you have managed to express the state of mind that a lot of people are in. The sense of wanting to help, but not knowing how or where, is something a lot of us are going through. I would love some feedback on my site Traders when you got time.
Richard Baker| 6.16.09 @ 7:36AM
If he's are willing to work hard for it then who are you detractors to complain? Are you willing to work as hard? Stop complaining when someone will do what you won't. It's not as if someone puts a gun to peoples' heads and says "Eat Utz potato chips or you're dead". The reason these people are wealthy is that they are willing to reach their dreams. Are you?
Missy| 6.16.09 @ 2:11PM
The Bible states that we are supposed to be wise stewards of God's creation--earth. I don't begrudge Rice his wealth but I also don't believe his greed is a virtue.
Don't Seymour Kleerly--your Fascist Liberalism offers no answers; who are you to steal from some to give to others? And of course, in the process, cynical hucksters like you always make sure you get yours. Little people, my backside.
Richard Baker| 6.16.09 @ 2:59PM
Missy:
If he's paying the bills for this as a spinoff of the good his company does, what constitutes greed, that you and others are jealous of his success? What next, another nanny state institution measuring and weighing everything someone does against the standard of the moment? Whatever happened to Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness? I think some of the writers on these pages are morons but I don't assume the right to say they can't have their say. That's what Liberty and Freedom ARE. That's why we're Americans.
Missy| 6.16.09 @ 4:27PM
Mr. Baker, don't put words in my mouth. Did you read my post? I said I didn't begrudge Rice his wealth, just his greed.
Don't lump me in with the commies--it doesn't amuse me.
Who are you to try to deny me MY freedom of speech?
Richard Baker| 6.16.09 @ 6:33PM
Missy:
Not denying your right to speak. Just questioning your judgement. Seems you're quite jealous of his project. Greed IS the way the left denigrates anyone who has more than they. Is that what you meant? If it looks like a duck...
Missy| 6.16.09 @ 6:53PM
You sound like a liberal, Mr. Baker. You attribute emotions/motives to me that I do not possess.
Perhaps you're more of a knee-jerk thinker than I am. I am not quibbling with Mr. Rice's right to build this garish piece of crap, I'm quibbling with his lack of grace and common courtesy toward his neighbors.
I'll say it one more time--it's not his wealth, it's his boorishness.
Many selfish Americans like you, Sir, loudly demand their rights without the attendant responsibilities. Maybe it's 'Might makes Right' with you; if true, it's unfortunate.
If Mr. Rice had shown just a touch of graciousness toward Ms. Scattergood, perhaps this fracas would never have occurred.
After all, common courtesy is the basis for civilization.
Richard Baker| 6.16.09 @ 11:51PM
Missy:
I'm VERY conservative. I don't think it's any of yours or my business if a man legally builds his dream house. The problem we have is that too many in this country want a managed free enterprise system. This is a chimera. Free means free. Why do you think that this country achieved it's wealth and abundance, which many decry, instead of turning out like France or England? The answer, dear lady, is that people were free to rise to the level of their abilities. Without that we are nothing but a repressed society that can't get out of it's own way. Wealth creation is due to hard work and perseverence. What you find boorish is his choice. Given the same resources, do you think that you might create something similar that others would find foolish or boorish? And whose business would that be but yours?
Missy| 6.17.09 @ 4:06AM
Damn, I'm so glad I don't have to know you.
You don't have REAL freedom unless you couple responsibility with the rights you demand.
Are you ever fixated on money--there's more to life, babe. Piggishness is no virtue and is certainly not a turn on. Hope you realize that some day before it's too late.
It's difficult to explain gentility to a troglodyte--but at least I tried.
It's been a pleasure.
Richard Baker| 6.17.09 @ 12:47PM
Missy:
Now you sound like one of the '60s Flower children. I saw them in person way back when and everything was piggish and selfish. excepting, of course their own behavior. Thanks for the troglodyte title. That's the nicest thing that's ever been said to me. Remember, Utopia is around the last corner.
RM| 6.17.09 @ 1:52PM
Missy and Richard,
thanks for the entertainment. Thoroughly enjoyed it although Missy I suspect you slant slightly to the left and couldn’t avoid an opportunity to tell someone how they should dispense their wealth.
Anyways, thanks.
True Conservative| 6.17.09 @ 4:18PM
Male Conservative Pigs: Thank God your meathead numbers are low. Selfish and immature, maybe someday you'll grow up.
Do you guys moonlight in Iran with your fellow Mullahs? lol
Joy| 6.17.09 @ 4:20PM
Baker, if you liked troglodyte, I've got a few other names that fit you, too.
I can't say them here, but I think you've got the picture.
Jamie Lynne| 6.17.09 @ 8:55PM
Look at RM--must have decided to be the thread's political persuasion referee. Who asked you, doofas?
Richard Baker| 6.17.09 @ 11:49PM
Joy:
I always heard that when one resorts to profanity as an argument that that signifies a tired mind. Didn't know that you were SO tired.
You know, when the Soviet Union fell there were people in this country who said that maybe there were people who weren't meant to be free. Are you not meant to be free or do you believe in "managed" freedom? Curious.
Joy| 6.18.09 @ 12:30AM
Dude, you've got WAY too much time on your hands. I DIDN'T use profanity.
Tell me, is there a commie lurking behind every shrub and plant in your world? Or maybe your Mommy just diapered you too snug. You seem a little tightly wound, sweets.
No, I don't have a tired mind but I definitely think you have a paranoid mind. If someone accidentally startles you, do you come out with guns blazing looking for Pinkos? Any nightmares of the Red Menace that make you wake up screaming? Just trying to help out. Chill.
RM| 6.18.09 @ 10:45AM
Jamie Lynn,
You can come up with something better than a personal attack now can't you? Then again, that is the modus operandi of the left.
I long for the days of civil discourse.
Jamie Lynne| 6.18.09 @ 1:43PM
I long for the days of no buttinskis. But nosiness is the MO of those without lives.
Richard Baker| 6.18.09 @ 3:49PM
Joy:
The real world is not a sitcom where alls well at the end. Reality is hard work. It appears that you're not up to the task. Pity.
Joy| 6.18.09 @ 5:21PM
True, but it's not all one big Rambo movie, either. Don't make it harder than it is.
Boo!
Just look before you shoot, okay?
Richard Baker| 6.18.09 @ 11:20PM
Joy:
Have you ever been out of the US and seen the craziness in Asia and elsewhere? I'm actually underdescribing what I've seen. Sadly, too many Americans, these days, probably think the Founders were a bunch of Gun Crazies, as well. After the Real Americans save our country, a simple thank you will suffice.
Joy| 6.19.09 @ 1:06AM
Baker, did you get lost on the Web and think you ended up on the Huffington Post? Do you realize that American Spectator is a CONSERVATIVE Website? Just checking cause you're looking for a fight that doesn't exist. I've been blogging here since its inception--you're the newbie. What's with the attitude? You're the first male Conservative blogger I've had a problem with here. All of the other guys are my friends--we laugh all of the time. What's with you?
I do own a gun, I'm probably a better shot than you; yes, I've been overseas and am incredibly grateful to be an American citizen and no, the Founders were not gun crazies--they are my heroes.
I just think you're a little too tightly wound up--and damn straight you'd better know that I am a REAL AMERICAN who would save your uptight butt, and graciously accept your grateful thank you afterward. No one questions my patriot bona fides if they know me.
Lighten up--Conservatives like to have fun too.
Richard Baker| 6.22.09 @ 12:20AM
Joy:
For a self-described Conservative you don't read well. Try to read my messages again, if you can. I always heard that when someone resorts to profanity and anger that this was the sign of a tired mind. I didn't know you were so tired and confused. Center of Mass.
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serty| 4.22.10 @ 9:11PM
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I’ll have a Poptropica full written walkthrough very soon, but in the meantime, here are some answers to some of the frequently asked questions about Mythology Island. Having trouble? Post a question in the comments and I’ll try to answer it!
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