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Letter: Expensive ski tickets and soaring homelessness characterize America’s income inequality

(Rick Egan | The Salt Lake Tribune)  A woman and her dog stand at the I-215 offramp, on Saturday, Jan. 13, 2024.

(Rick Egan | The Salt Lake Tribune) A woman and her dog stand at the I-215 offramp, on Saturday, Jan. 13, 2024.

A recent article in The Tribune notes that Utah has two of the three most expensive ski areas in the nation. At Deer Valley and Park City, a day of skiing (including lodging, meals, a lift ticket, a ski lesson, etc.) during the holiday season will cost more than $2,500 per person. And that doesn’t include airfare or ground transportation.

In other recent news, homelessness across the United States soared 18% this past year, to a new record high.

The World Bank annually publishes a ranking of income inequality in every nation on Earth. In this year’s report, the United States placed 107th, making us more unequal than any other developed country. In part, that’s because we have by far the most billionaires.

And with Trump, Musk, Ramaswamy, and other billionaires taking over the executive branch of the federal government, it’s unlikely anything will change anytime soon.

Tom Huckin, Salt Lake City

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