The oldest magic trick in the book

Lately, I can’t shake the frustration brewing inside me. Everywhere I turn, I hear people railing against porch pirates, catalytic converter thieves, smash-and-grab offenders, and even those who are homeless or on welfare. It’s all over my neighborhood app, on the news, in casual conversations—the anger, the outrage, the calls to “lock them all up and throw away the key.” But what about the real thieves? The ones who steal far more than a package from your doorstep or a piece from your car. The ones who take billions, maybe trillions, from all of us—and yet, somehow, they get a free pass. Why is no one enraged at them?

Corporations dodge taxes every year, avoiding their fair share while the rest of us scrape by. Billionaire CEOs fire thousands of people just to pad their already grotesque bonuses, leaving families to figure out how to put food on the table. Politicians, too cozy with special interests, line their pockets and ignore the needs of the people they’re supposed to represent. These aren’t isolated cases. It’s systemic theft, carried out with a wink and a handshake, while we’re busy focusing our anger on the people at the bottom.

It’s the oldest magic trick in the book: sleight of hand. Look over here, they say. Look at the smash-and-grab robberies, the porch pirates, the homeless encampments. Look at these easy targets for your frustration, while the real crime, the crime that undermines your future, your kids’ future, happens in secret, behind closed doors.

If we keep falling for this trickery, what’s going to happen? The divide between rich and poor will keep growing until there’s nothing left of the middle class. Communities will crumble under the weight of underfunded schools, healthcare systems, and infrastructure, while the ultra-wealthy hoard resources. We can already see it happening in the House Reconciliation Bill that just passed. People will grow angrier and more desperate, but as long as their anger is misdirected, the cycle will continue. More policing, more punishment for the little guy, and more unchecked power for those at the top.

I’m not saying we should excuse petty crime or let people do whatever they want. What I’m saying is we need to shift our focus. Stop falling for the distraction, and start holding the real criminals accountable—the ones who can buy their way out of consequences while the rest of us pay the price. If I could wish for anything, it would be this.