Monday, August 3, 2009

Special to BIRCHES- A question -- with preamble -- from FELIX

Don't you think it's time to start doing something to help slow the pace at which the rich get richer and the poor do without? For instance, in the Buick Open today...there were holes that a golfer could win a car if he hit a hole in one. Wouldn't it be better for everyone if, instead of giving a car to a person who already has far more cars than he needs (come on, a pro golfer needing a new car??), why doesn't Buick donate $18,000 to a homeless shelter? Or,food bank?

Instead of players who are making millions and millions of dollars receiving 'incentive bonuses' (the millions of dollars aren't incentive enough), of millions and millions of more dollars, why not give that money to a charity of the player's choice in his name? (Does he really need another heart- shaped swimming pool to drive a Rolls-Royce into?)

And, corporate CEOs, CFOs, COOs, etc....The ones who deserve more money less than anybody...how about taking their big bonuses and building housing for low- income families? Or, SOMEthing good?

Or, am I just talking out of my ass?

6 comments:

Alice said...

Felix; What you say makes a lot of sense to me. The problem is it requires a sense of altruism on the part of those stealing all that money from the populace. Altruism is counter intuitive to stealing. Where are the marchers on Washington?
Where are the leaders to organize local protests? I've heard that the opposition to the health care program reforms have already trained and scripted people from their groups to show up and cause disturbances at town hall meetings scheduled to be held in various congressional districts around the country. We can find out where these are being held and show up. Start being loud and vocal about what you believe. Some would say you're a socialist. Disregarding the fact that the bailouts socialized the profits and stuck the rest of us with the bill. I was at a gathering here in Saginaw County. A very wealthy surgeon was complaining about the pesky catfish in is 5 fishing ponds on his "estate". He was going to have to have someone come in to destroy them. I suggested he have them donated to the local soup kitchen. He looked down his snout at me and asked "Why would I do that?" Attitude to getting rich.

Bud said...

I see that Urban Meyer coach of Florida is getting an additional 375,000 in pay for this coming year. At $4,000,000 he will make exactly 10 times as much as the President of the U.S. and not nearly as much as a CEO of a great Wall Street bank.

To me it is a question of what is valued by society, although some people claim that, perhaps mystically, there is some way to determine what a person is worth and that is why they get paid it. If they weren't "worth" it, they wouldn't get it.

Irene said...

The problem is you can only value what you can put a price on. So - pollution, domestic labour, volunteer work - all marginalised. How much of the bailout money has gone to the execs - imagine if it was used to bailout homeless people, sick people, dilapidated schools, children who can't afford university, etc. Have the execs of Wall Street paid any price for their greed and carelessness?

Who is Buick trying to impress anyway with this "marketing strategy'. As if a golf player is going to drive an $18,000 Buick - maybe he could give it to his 16 year old kid - though the 16 year old probably expects something better.

Irene said...

That's it. I'm moving to the country and raising chooks and getting a milking cow.

Felix J said...

I'm not 100% sure what a 'chook' is...but, I like them and want to move to the country and raise some myself.

Bud said...

I believe a "chook" is a kind of rhinoceros.