"Carmel, begun by starveling writers and unwanted painters is now a community of the well-to-do and the retired. If Carmel''s founders should return, they could not afford to live there, but it wouldn't go that far. They would be instantly picked up as suspicious characters and deported over the city line."
Not that I didn't love my visit it Carmel-by-the-Sea, I did, but it was absolutely a reminder of the totally unstartling wealth inequality in our country.
In one conversation with a local named Craig, a studio musician who has long done work alongside bands like Steely Dan, I was reminded just how deep that inequality goes when he pointed out that if he were to sell his Carmel property, he would not be able to buy it back again with the proceeds, given how high in demand property is in the area.
Likewise, the local pub, Mulligans, was forced to move when a corporation somewhere in another part of the country bought out the entire block. The corp told the pub "change what you serve to match our expectations or get out." Thankfully, the pub got out, went around the corner, and retains its classic local vibe whereas "Brophys" (the corp bar that replaced it) remains just as terrible as its awful name would suggest).
Still, the charms of Carmel-by-the-Sea are unforgettable and joyous, at least in their raw natural form. The beach and sunset are unforgettable, and the local haunts, if you find them, still retain some of the magic of the early artist colony -- or at least the working-man survivor elements of that original community.
It can be a reminder of the problems that our society faces, but it's not the only reminder, and it might also be a reminder of some of the important and beautiful things that should be the norm for everyone, not just the cherished few.