According to Rousseau, a "great princess" once uttered the memorable line "Let them eat cake" when she was informed the peasants had no bread to eat. Rousseau's political philosophy is said to have influenced the French Revolution (1789-99) and as we know, that great experiment spiraled downward into the Reign of Terror (1793-94), and ultimately ended with the dictatorship of Napoleon (1799-1815). That French fiasco proved -- once again -- what happens when mankind worships a person, state or ideology.

Just about when you think the "Let them eat cake" thing could not be "improved" upon, along come some daring Californians (who wouldn't have guessed that?) to upset the bread cart. As reported by CBSLA , Beverly Hills Caviar has unveiled a vending machine at the Burbank Towne Center, which will dispense a "large selection of the world's finest caviar, truffles, escargot" and other related grandiose gourmet items to the wanting elite populace. Prices range from $50 to $500.

We -- the great unwashed (what the French would call the "canaille") need to understand this and get our proletarian heads around this seemingly laughable undertaking. Is there something here we are not intelligent enough to comprehend?

According to a Manhattan Institute study released Sept. 25, more people have left California than have come to it since 2005. The "Golden State," has had a net domestic out-migration averaging 225,000 residents a year now for some time. According to one estimate 254 businesses across a variety of industries moved all or some of their jobs out of state last year

Thus far, this year, four California cities have filed for bankruptcy protection -- Vallejo, Stockton, Mammoth Falls, and San Bernardino. Other big cities, including Los Angeles, are talking more openly about the bankruptcy option.
"Some cities may not go into bankruptcy, but they may dissolve," Michael Coleman, a fiscal policy advisor for the California League of Cities, told the LA Times.

And the citizenry there (in the Nov. 6 elections) voted to have their taxes raised while their trusted legislators are spending billions on a high speed rail system, approved July 6, which initially runs 130 miles in the Central Valley. California has both the highest state deficit in the country and the highest personal income tax.

"The state is [now] run for the very rich, the very poor, and the public employees," said Joel Kotkin, a demographer and Californian who has fled the state.

Assuming this statement could be true, it explains to me who will frequent the caviar vending machine at the Burbank Towne Center -- the rich. OK, I get it -- finally. After all, movie stars are people, too. Their intellectual capacities probably require vast amounts of caviar and escargot to keep them in top form. (Though I always thought it was something other than food.)

What about the rest of us peasants? On Oct. 19, it was reported by CBS that a survey of about 1,100 Americans found that more than 4-in-10 respondents admitted they didn't have more than $500 in readily accessible savings.

Oh well, let us eat fish eggs and learn to love them -- if only the feds would give us caviar food stamps. There's a dream to keep.

New Mexico resident Mike Curran's political columns have been published in American Thinker. He is a two-time New Mexico Press Association award recipient and writes once-a-week political opinion columns for the Ruidoso News (http://www.ruidosonews.com/). He may be reached at se7en@beyondbb.com