I’d say he had it pegged, as did LBJ, and FDR. Something for nothing is an easy sale every time.
His demise in 1970 was notable with the later discovery of $800,000 in illicit cash stuffed in shoe boxes along with 49 cases of whiskey and 14 transistor radios among other things in the downstate Springfield hotel suite where he lived while in office.
When he'd visit the Chicago suburbs he and his entourage would regularly sweep into a local Elmhurst restaurant popular with politicians for dinner. At the hostess station in the front lobby, there was always an open box of fine cigars so the pols could grab one on the way out after dining.
The hostess told me that on the way out Powell would always help himself to not one, but every stogie, box and all.
The guy couldn't keep himself from stealing.
Leni
Think about this for a moment: It we could snap our fingers and instantly make every human being in America “pasty white skinned”, would things be any different. I say NO! We would still have this socialistic entitlement society with an ever increasing number of people dependent on the government and taking no responsibility for themselves. The socialists in power would want to keep it this way so they could insure they continue to get elected. Sad state of affairs.
I was taking a course at a local college and the Teacher's Assistant (TA) was a very smart, clean-cut, black man from a western African nation. He wore a tie all the time and was very self confident as this class was a bust-butt kind of technical class. A few of us talked with him outside of the classroom one time.
The thing that the TA said to us that day will always be with me and changed my world view. He said (as best as I remember), "The American blacks are a disgrace to blacks everywhere".