Letter: The hoarding of wealth and power has America reeling. It's an addiction begging for intervention. [View all]

By William Cosgrove | The Public Forum
| Dec. 6, 2025, 8:00 a.m.

We all accumulate things for future use, and saving up for tomorrow’s possible needs is an intelligent, rational decision. However, gathering and storing too much, beyond any likely need, is pathological. Several television series have portrayed the sufferers of compulsive hoarding disorder as powerless victims of their need to keep everything. The need to hoard becomes an uncontrollable addiction, often stemming from some traumatic loss in their childhood.

Our billionaire class are hoarders of wealth. The accumulation of wealth is the only goal. It is not to have enough money to buy another yacht, nor to put away enough to guard against possible future needs. Enough is never enough to fill their emotional craving. They always need more.

And there are hoarders in our political class. Politicians crave power. Whatever power they have is never enough. They prolong their positions to gather more power, not to strategically use that power, but simply to hoard it. Our country is reeling from the onerous effects of this summer’s Big Beautiful Bill (with cuts to SNAP, Medicaid, health insurance subsidies, yet big tax cuts for the wealthy). On May 22, the House passed the BBB by one vote (215 to 214), and on July 1, the Senate passed it by one vote (51 to 50). Any one of our four representatives, or either of our senators, could have used a bit of their power to force improvements in this bill to protect our citizens. Instead, sadly, they hoarded their power.

Instead of dismissing hoarders as pathetic, we should offer sympathy and some loving intervention. We will not contribute to their hoarding. No more stuff. No more money to the billionaires. No more time in office for our representatives. We all must help them break their sad addictions.

https://www.sltrib.com/opinion/letters/2025/12/06/letter-hoarding-wealth-power-has/

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