This Christmas has really driven home the gap between the haves and the have-nots. In years past I could just ignore all those insane gift commercials. Now I'm noticing that even Menards is in on the creepy act - Menards is the midwest equivalent of Lowes and Home Depot, but with an even stronger working class feel. Last night they were advertising $400 power tools and $700 tool chests as great Christmas gifts!
I'm also thinking about the lessons inherent in A Christmas Carol by Dickens. How wonderfully sweet of the big 3 automaker CEO's to take a $1 a year salary as part of a bail out. This seems like a sacrifice until you learn that they make upwards of $22 million a year!
Why aren't they being fired??!! For $22 million a year I'd expect just a wee bit of success, wouldn't you? And honestly, how much harder do they work to earn those millions every year?
The President of the
academically elite liberal arts college where I work makes just over $500G's a year. That was recently published in the Minneapolis Star Tribune so I'm not telling tales out of school. This institution has never had lay offs. Their endowment is healthy. Their students are successful. The institution grows every year. This man flys all over the country and the world, commercial I might add, to further the purposes of the college. He works just as many long hard hours as a major CEO.
The President of the
University of Minnesota makes just over $700G's. That's a Big Ten teaching, medical, and R&D facility with over 40,572 undergraduate students, 25,527 graduate, professional, and other students
, 4,088 full-time faculty, and $619.2 million in sponsored research awards. He governs not only the large metro Twin Cities campus but four coordinate campuses in outstate.
I say if a large corporation fails, and is looking for a taxpayer hand out, you fire the whole lot and replace them with hard working Americans willing to accept a more reasonable salary. I'm sick and tired of the rich Ebenezer Scrooge's hoarding everything.
Addendum - little sister is right. Hear what Michael Moore has to say. Exactly!
Nothing kills a Christmas mood like being sick. I've been down and out all week with a nasty cold and sinus infection. My Twin #2 is worse - my hubby is at the ER with her right now where they are testing for mono or influenza. She just didn't turn around, even after 3 days of antibiotics. So I'm up at 3am thinking of her, worrying, and using up all the kleenex. As a parent, there is nothing worse than seeing your kids hurting.
