Update: so it appears that showing no emotion is the new way to go.
Today's rant is a simple one:
Why do professional athletes get paid so damned much?
I agree that they do a spectacular job of running and playing with balls, or whatever, but how does that make them worth more than, oh I don't know, teachers? Social workers? Child services employees?
and what exactly does it say about us that we continue to support these big sweaty troublesome men? I say men, because really, how much do figure skaters make? or gymnasts?
anyway, I really love watching football. I'll even support the argument that their careers are short-lived due to heinous wear and tear and injuries. but it's hard to compare a full-back earning $762,000 in a year compared to a high school teachers paltry $40,000. so that means that a high school teacher has to survive not only teenagers but the school system, government, principals politics, and the fuckin' PTA for 19 years to equal what a Carolina Panther can pull in 8 months.
wha???
if we cared about our kids, or future kids, or even the politicians that will handle our social security and medicare, shouldn't we be switching that?
this is an old argument. I heard it long before I even realized that the government was raping me to provide for old people. so why is it still an issue?
I suppose it's easier to be a Bears fan, or a Packers fan, or even a shameful Cowboys fan, than to cough up more city taxes for teachers that may or may not affect your actual life. and the gods know, if we started encouraging teachers to accept sponsorships all our kids would come home saying McD's was healthy or that only Adidas cared about our sweat and toil. still, I can't help but feel that something could be done.
a recent conversation with my girls opened up the idea that you can live in a neighborhood that is already good, or you can make an effort and try to fix a neighborhood that is currently bad. and I can honestly say, I'd rather live in the good neighborhood. I'd rather support a school that has smart kids, wealthy contributing parents, and more electives. I don't really want to try and save a school that is underfunded and full of already angry kids, who expect either a hand-out or to be slapped down by the man.
I recognize that I should care about these bad schools. my kid will probably end up in one, and I will be there everyday to make an effort. but I'd rather make the effort at a good school. it seems a lot less like hypocrisy when my own wee one is involved.
so, who wants to join me in hitting up professional football players to kick 90% of their salary to their state schools? come on, it still leaves them with $76,200 . . . and do any of us make that much?
Go Colts!
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4 comments:
i had this discussion in macroeconomics with prof 25 years ago. he said "if the players are making so much, they wouldnt be if the owners weren't making much more."
my answer is that we are living in an escapist culture. sports are entertainment, always have been, even spearchucking contests thousands of years ago. well probably.
just dont watch, the time will pass. just as network broadcast tv is dying, so will the giant professional sports industries. personally i prefer college sports. more surprise outcomes. but still a business. another conversation with AD of Wake Forest 35 years ago.
I'm going to bust some microeconomics out here, go out on a limb, and say its simple supply and demand. The ability to do the task required is the supply. If everyone could perform at a level of professional football players, their salary would be a dime a dozen. There is a constricted supply of the best of the best even if they only perform adequately at their jobs. I don't want to put social services down, but there is a much larger supply of people who can perform adequately given the job requirements.
okay Jeff, you've described the supply; now can you explain the demand? Even escapist entertainment like Mark mentions, isn't there enough already? is there any relation to such things as the "greatest generation"; the "me generation"; etc.?? Does anybody care about the future anymore, or is it just "I'm happy, who cares about future generations?" (Of people, I mean - obviously "ecology" and "environmentalism" are popular catchphrases these days. So the earth is clean and the people have reverted back to monkeys!) eeech, eeech, eeech!
A couple of quick demand drivers. 1) sociology. people like to identify with success. the players are the epitome of success, and achievement.
2) social psych. there is camraderie in following a team. people identify with each other, through commonalities in the team.
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