December 7, 2010--Millionaires
Americans love millionaires.
There's that TV game show, Who Wants To Be A Millionaire, and plenty of people try to become contestants. Then there are the ones Republicans want to protect, claiming they are "job creators." and thus should be treated better than the rest of us by the tax code.
And then there's Derek Jeter who just signed a new four-year contract with the Yankees that will net him $16 million a year for a part time summer job.
You would think that with so many Yankee fans hurting economically that there might be some resentment about this incredible deal. Baseball is still a game which is fun to play and getting paid anything to do your thing in the new stadium next to the House That Ruth Built should be appealing to pretty much anyone who fantasizes about roaming center field or the infield. So for any Yankee shortstop to get $64 million for four years one would think would raise a few proletarian hackles.
Thus, when I tuned in the other night to WFAN (a 24-hour-a-day sports talk radio station in New York where listening for even one hour would help you understand why the etymology of fan is fanatic) not one caller expressed any feelings whatsoever that could be viewed as envy much less class warfare. In fact, most thought Derek was being underpaid!
So why is it that so many of us cut millionaires so much slack?
Is it because that though we may be stuck in a dead-end job we can always dream the American Dream? Immigrants still come here thinking the streets are paved with a 21st century version of gold. That it is there for the taking. Work hard, get a little lucky, and you too can be a millionaire.
Is there anything more American than becoming one?
Both my father and father-in-law who were never happy with how much they earned or were able to save, when asked why they were so perpetually gloomy, said, "I'd be happy if I was a millionaire."
When asked why that was so, what they would do differently if they had an actual million, neither had a wish list of things they wanted to do or purchase. The best they could come up with was to say it would make them feel better about themselves.
I guess that's why Republicans have such a fondness for millionaires. They want them to feel good about themselves. And now with President Obama's capitulation on taxes, I am certain this morning they are. Derek Jeter too.
There's that TV game show, Who Wants To Be A Millionaire, and plenty of people try to become contestants. Then there are the ones Republicans want to protect, claiming they are "job creators." and thus should be treated better than the rest of us by the tax code.
And then there's Derek Jeter who just signed a new four-year contract with the Yankees that will net him $16 million a year for a part time summer job.
You would think that with so many Yankee fans hurting economically that there might be some resentment about this incredible deal. Baseball is still a game which is fun to play and getting paid anything to do your thing in the new stadium next to the House That Ruth Built should be appealing to pretty much anyone who fantasizes about roaming center field or the infield. So for any Yankee shortstop to get $64 million for four years one would think would raise a few proletarian hackles.
Thus, when I tuned in the other night to WFAN (a 24-hour-a-day sports talk radio station in New York where listening for even one hour would help you understand why the etymology of fan is fanatic) not one caller expressed any feelings whatsoever that could be viewed as envy much less class warfare. In fact, most thought Derek was being underpaid!
So why is it that so many of us cut millionaires so much slack?
Is it because that though we may be stuck in a dead-end job we can always dream the American Dream? Immigrants still come here thinking the streets are paved with a 21st century version of gold. That it is there for the taking. Work hard, get a little lucky, and you too can be a millionaire.
Is there anything more American than becoming one?
Both my father and father-in-law who were never happy with how much they earned or were able to save, when asked why they were so perpetually gloomy, said, "I'd be happy if I was a millionaire."
When asked why that was so, what they would do differently if they had an actual million, neither had a wish list of things they wanted to do or purchase. The best they could come up with was to say it would make them feel better about themselves.
I guess that's why Republicans have such a fondness for millionaires. They want them to feel good about themselves. And now with President Obama's capitulation on taxes, I am certain this morning they are. Derek Jeter too.
posted by Steven Zwerling at
5:00 AM
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