Another of our readers has been dropping us a line every now and then from an ongoing cross-country trip. This one from this morning is interesting:

We have been on the road now for about 6 weeks. We have logged over 5,000 miles and driven through 15 states.

The Huff Post has been running a continuous story line about "3rd world America" for some time now, telling people's stories of hard times.

Here is what we see traveling in our little (22-foot Class C) RV that is 18 years old. The more "fortunate" people in 3rd world America are living in motor homes, 5th wheels and trailers full time. They work part time when they can, or are physically able to do so. This is a vast "underclass" that has developed over time. We saw evidence of its beginnings 3 years ago when we took a long winter vacation in our camper. Now it is much more prevalent.

We are currently in an inner-city RV park in Ft Lauderdale, Florida. I would estimate that 80% of the spaces are occupied by "full-timers." The man in the trailer behind our rig is a motorcycle cop and pulls out of here in full uniform every a.m. Everyone is very nice to us and our little dog, and I feel comfortable here. These folks run a good camp and don't put up with any bad stuff. We feel comfortable enough to store our rig here while we go to the Bahamas for a month.

Some places are not so nice or well run. In Bakersfield, we stayed one place one night, and I am positive the next-door neighbors were cooking meth in their trailer.

So while the pundits go on and on about how to try and solve the economic problems in our country, there are a great many people who have never appeared in the statistics. These folks are just getting by, hanging on hoping for better times and listening to the messages paid for by goofball uber-rich (Koch brothers), and delivered by the likes of Sarah, Rush and Glenn, who make promises they have no intention of keeping.

In contrast to this semi-poverty is the current event of the pre-season here, The International Boat Show. It is arguably the largest boat show in the world. The mega yachts show up here to party and for the owners to see and be seen.

It costs between $18 and $32 per day to get in the show, which runs for 4 days. The boats on display are mostly power boats and range in size from luxurious runabouts to a 238-foot mega yacht. That boat costs about $250 grand a week to rent, not including food, booze and crew tips. If you want to buy such a craft, you will have to shell out about $100 million. You do NOT get to go aboard the mega yachts except by private invitation.

So there is the contrast. The richy rich are getting richer and then there are the rest of us...