A Rockefeller Reverse Robin-Hood

Yesterday's New York Times had a remarkable account of the inner workings of Historic Hudson Valley, a non-profit group founded by John D. Rockefeller, that we shouldn't have let pass without comment. The Times reported that the group can barely afford to keep a historic house that it bought open to the public (the group is scratching around for $100,000 gifts to do so), but that it nevertheless "recently broke ground on a regional history center in Pocantico Hills, N.Y., on nine acres donated by Laurance Rockefeller." Says the Times, "Although the group does not yet have the $15 million it needs to build the center, it began construction last month because it would otherwise lose a $6 million grant from a state financing agency." With New York state practically broke, it's hard to see why the state's taxpayers, most of whom are poorer than the Rockefellers, should be subsidizing the family's history hobbies. It's another reverse Robin-Hood. The Rockefellers probably figure if they can get away with taking farm subsidies, why not try for a history subsidy? How far the mighty have fallen.