The Spectacle Of Wealth Envy

I learned long ago not to worry about what others make. It can eat you up, from the inside out. Is what I'm making fair to me? That's the way I look at it.

And rich? Who's rich? My experience has been that nobody, regardless of their income, thinks of themselves as rich. Always, there is somebody else more wealthy than me or you, and THAT is the slacker who is getting off light. Tax that bastard!

People truly lack perspective. The 1%? Who are they? Well, in the US, you're top 1.5% if you make more than $250,000 in a year. Worldwide? If you earn $50,000 a year, you're top 1% worldwide. I think a lot of people getting upset about the upper 1% in the US find themselves in the top 1% worldwide. And top 20% worldwide? No doubt about it, being that it only takes $1,500/year to get there.

Now comes Roddy White, pro football player with the Atlanta Falcons. He makes $8.33 million per year. Definitely in the 1%. So, is he satisfied? Because he's in the top 0.1% in the USA. Wealth envy, and a lack of perspective know no bounds. From ESPN:

Roger Goodell reportedly will make $20 million per season by the end of his current contract. That figure set off Falcons receiver Roddy White, who posted his displeasure Monday at the commissioner's salary on his Twitter account.

"How in the hell can u pay a man this much money that cant run tackle or catch," White wrote, posting a link to a ProFootballTalk.com story which referenced the Sports Business Journal's report on Goodell's compensation.

How? The Commissioner does a few important things, like negotiate the TV deal. This is a large source of White's income.

When one of White's followers pointed out that Goodell is running the biggest sports league in the country, White took offense.

"Thats the stupidest thing i have ever heard the players make this league dont ever forget that," he wrote.

I'll accept some measure of his frustration, in that in sports or other entertainment, the performers are the whole show. If you don't have the best or most entertaining talent to showcase, your product isn't as valuable. But, having a highly paid professional Commissioner isn't the stupidest thing ever. The NFL was once a league where players made $10,000 a year and worked in factories or sold insurance in the off-season. Perhaps White would prefer to go back to that? Get Joe Blow off the street, who would be willing to do the job for $50,000/year, and see what you get.

One of White's followers asked the receiver in a tweet if he expected to be fined for questioning Goodell's salary.

"I hope not im praying not i need my money," he wrote.

Ah. Now you get to the root of it. Roddy White's $8.33 million is important to him. I wonder if it ever occurred... No. I'm sure it never occurred to White that Goodell values his salary, all of it, as much as White values his.

White best be careful. There stands 99.9% of the population looking up at his salary much the way he looks at Goodell's. Many times have I heard, "They get paid ridiculous amounts of money to play a game," or, "School teachers are more valuable than pro athletes". A lot of people are in real trouble if we move away from markets and towards public votes on who gets what.

What About The Game?

I actually did watch the entire Super Bowl game this time, having been invited to a party where there were kids mine could play with. A very good time.

The game itself was perhaps the most mediocre Super Bowl game I had ever watched. It was just like most NBA games, where you can skip the first 58 minutes of game time, and see everything you really need to see at the end.

I mean, the most interesting play was where Giants running back Ahmad Bradshaw had to decide, "Should I score or shouldn't I?"

If you didn't watch the game and just looked at the box score, you would have thought that this might have been a wide open game, with MVP Eli Manning throwing for 296 yards, and Tom Brady for 276. But, according to ESPN's game report, MVP Eli Manning threw 80 percent of his passes fewer than 15 yards downfield. Tom Brady only threw 5 balls deeper than 20 yards, and most of those were on the last drive, including a Hail Mary. I was noting this during the game. It was hard to miss. The game featured plodding, unspectacular runs up the middle, and checkdowns and quick hitters on three yard curl patterns.

Very little happened that showcased the skill and athleticism of the players- with the exception of Giants punter Steve Weatherford, who had three kicks inside the Patriots' 10. I thought he should have been the MVP. I know the NFL would never dream of doing such a thing, so the QB of the winning team wins the award for lack of any better options.

This has been a long developing trend in the NFL, and sadly so. I love wide open, daring football. As a kid in the 70s, I was first a fan of the Oakland Raiders, and then the Seattle Seahawks, who would throw passes from field goal formation. I wore my Steve Largent jersey yesterday, and because I had to explain being a fan of the inventive Seahawks, we were all aware that nothing inventive was happening. The teams of yore took chances, spread the field with long throws, and were very exciting to watch. Football today has focused so squarely on eliminating turnovers that it doesn't allow QBs to stretch the field so much any more. The days of great QBs with 25 or so interceptions (Stabler, Fouts, Hart) is long gone. So is the excitement. Instead, the game calls are safe and predictable, where it's better to get stopped short on 3rd down and punt than to risk an interception 25 yards downfield.

It makes good sense, but it's boring. So, in retrospect, I wish the Saints or Packers got in on the NFC side, and... well, I don't know who plays exciting football in the AFC anymore. I'm at a loss.

Good Time To Leave Town

I have this weird feeling of deja vu. Yet again, the country will endure two weeks of Super Bowl hype, and yet again I don't care. The Steelers & Packers? Yawn. I can't stand the Steelers and their horrible fans, but I don't care to root against teams. It isn't nearly as satisfying as rooting for a team and watching them win.

No matter, I'll be in the Costa Rican rainforest, and chances are good that I wouldn't be able to see the Super Bowl even if I wanted to. But the teams in the Super Bowl remind me why the NHL playoffs are so superior: There is no doubt after a 7-game series that the better team advanced. Counter and say that football is too physical for multi-game series. Ok, I counter by saying, ever watch hockey?





Jay Cutler? Meet Eric Belanger or Duncan Keith- a guy who plays in Chicago after all.

Three of the best teams in the NFL are sitting at home- New England, New Orleans, and Atlanta. If the Patriots played the Jets 10 times, in my estimation, they would win 8 of those. And, New Orleans-Seattle? Fluke of the last half-century. So, I was bored with the conference championship games, as the Steelers seemed to be the only ones really worthy of being there, and I hate the Steelers.

So, the trip to Costa Rica is well timed, so as to avoid the monotony of the hype and the game. We'll improve our Espanol, take in the wildlife, and generally have a great time.

Going To The Colts Game

I'll cross another item off the Bucket List tonight in going to a Colts playoff game. Actually, it will be my first game at Lucas Oil Stadium. It's been ages since I'd gone to an NFL game.

Some I talked to have taken to tweaking me about attending an event at a publicly funded stadium, given my opposition to same. Give it up. I long ago came to the conclusion that I couldn't do much of anything on this earth if I was going to live by litmus tests.

How could I eat any food but that which I grow? After all, I oppose farm subsidies, and virtually all American foods are subsidized. How could I interact with any other living human being? After all, I don't agree 100% with anyone? The battles over funding the stadium are over. The battles over continued subsidization of the team carry on, and I lend my voice. But, do I boycott the stadium forever? To what end? Am I hurting those with ill-gotten gains at that point? I don't really think so.

So, go Colts! I hope they win, and I hope it's a great game. I'm going with great friends for pre-game fun, and for the game itself. That's what matters.

NFL All-Star Game A Joke

None of the pro sports has an all-star game more irrelevant than the NFL. It was bad enough that the league used to host the game after the Super Bowl, so as to be anti-climactic. Now the game is hosted the week before the Super Bowl, assuring that nobody from the two best teams in the league will play.

I mean, why would anyone want to see Drew Brees, or Peyton Manning, or six other Colts play, right? Check out this article for yuks.

All other sports host their games mid-season. I know the NFL is rightly concerned about injuries occurring during an exhibition game. Why not just have a skills competition? The NHL does it, and it's every bit as entertaining, or moreso, than the actual all-star game.

The Integrity of the Game

Conspiracy, or just resting some stars for the playoffs? Steelers linebacker LaMarr Woodley sees a conspiracy. From ESPN:

Pittsburgh's problem: The Patriots (10-5) and Bengals (10-5) have little at stake other than which team will be seeded No. 3 in the AFC. With a wild-card playoff game awaiting both teams next week, New England and Cincinnati are expected to rest some starters to avoid possible injuries.

New England coach Bill Belichick hasn't revealed who will play. Woodley, last week's AFC defensive player of the week and a Pro Bowl alternate, thinks he knows already.

"All of them lay down," Woodley said Wednesday. "No one wants to see Pittsburgh in it. That's just how it is. Everybody knows we're a dangerous team once we get into the playoffs, no matter how we played the whole year. Once we get into the playoffs, the Pittsburgh Steelers is a playoff team."

Are. Are a playoff team. Well, he probably wasn't an English major in college.

I don't buy his conspiracy theory, but I do think the Pats and Bengals will be as beatable this week as any all season. Just like the Colts. Wake me up when the second round of the playoffs start.

Limbaugh To Own The Rams?

I was amused to see that one former painkiller addict wouldn't support the other. From the AP:

Rush Limbaugh's bid to buy the St. Louis Rams ran into opposition within the NFL on Tuesday. Colts owner Jim Irsay vowed to vote against him

I get the feeling that Indy's conservative football fans must have some large cognitive dissonance buzzing their brains right about now. The Colts are 5-0 and playing some of their best football ever, but the team is the city's welfare queen poster child, with Irsay a billionaire in no small part due to transfers of wealth from the populace to him. Then, the iconic Limbaugh gets a slap in the face from Irsay.

The Left boycotted Whole Foods when its' CEO said things it found insulting. Any chance the right will boycott the Colts?

Before any Limbaugh supporters call it un-American for Irsay to take this stance, just remember that the NFL and its' franchises are a different kind of property than, say, a common piece of real estate. The other owners do have a vote on whether or not to accept any prospective owner or ownership group, and they can discriminate against any prospective buyer, for any reason, no matter how illiberal that might seem.

Excellent Time for a Protest

The NFL season opener is in town tomorrow night. The Super Bowl champ Colts host the Saints for a big deal game, with big deal entertainment on Monument Circle. (Kelly Clarkson is ok by me, because she had Mike Watt play bass on recent recordings.) The national TV cameras will be focused on Indianapolis.

What better time to dunk some property tax assessment tea bags into the canal? Details:

INDIANA TEA PARTY

NFL Opening GamePan Am Plaza - Across from RCA Dome.
Thursday, Sept 6th - Meet at 6pm.
Bring your assessment (or facsimille) to put in the giant tea bag.
At 8pm we march to the Downtown Canal to dunk the tea bag once more

I've heard some grumbling about this, along the lines of, 'why can't you just enjoy the moment and not try to give the city a black eye?' Har har, the city already has the black eye. Check out the murder count, murder rate, general crime rate, tax rates, wealth flight, and then see if people trying to right the ship is in fact 'giving the city a black eye'.

Sometimes, embarrassment is the only motivation for fixing obvious and huge problems.

Update: Matt Tully wrote a truly unfortunate column for the Indy Star, urging everyone to enjoy the 'circus' part of the 'bread & circuses' charade, essentially sneering at the tax protesters. From his column:

"We want to communicate with the rest of the country what's going on in our city," event organizer Melyssa Donaghy, also the city's best-known dominatrix, told me.

All I can say is, huh?

A little perspective, folks. Something tells me people in Dubuque, Detroit and Durango don't care about tax increases in Indianapolis. And I'm betting NBC will steer its cameras away from those protesting in the streets. But since you're going to be here, Kelly and Faith, I thought you could use a primer on what's going on.

A. Why must Tully identify Melyssa Donaghy as a dominatrix? Does he identify every person he writes about by their proclivities? Or, is this just his shabby attempt to smear her? That was rhetorical. Matt Tully lives to smear the earnest little people who endeavor to make our region a better place to live. I know, he's done it to me.

B. The point of shining the light of truth on the tax situation for people outside to see is not because they have an interest. It's because this event is a sham designed to prop up the gilded face of the city. Underneath the glitter is a hell of a lot of decay. The protesters are, as the kids say, keeping it real.

C. Perspective? It doesn't matter what the problems of New Orleans or the third world are. We live in Indiana. All politics being local, we work to make home a better place. If we ignored home and focused elsewhere, home would get worse. Why does Tully want home to decline? What kind of 'thinking' is that? Perspective, indeed!

Maybe it's just that the Star sells a lot of newspapers and draws a lot of website hits by running pictures and stories about the Colts, thus selling a lot of advertising. Maybe that's Tully's motivation for this slime-dripping hack job.