Art, you lose my respect when you resort to insults and negativity, rather than simply saying that those of us who don't have the desire or ability to spend a lot of money at a restaurant are somehow beneath you.  Your contempt for the lower/middle class completely negates your credibility. 

If you had stripped away the condescending tone and simply said that money does not equal influence, I may have disagreed with you, but at least you would have been taken more seriously.  It's an attitude like yours that makes me wonder if the same "logic" could have been written by members of the Legislature.  Certainly you can write better than this.