Monday, October 29, 2012

Personalizing Peronism

So I finally engaged one of my Robert Reich-loving friends on Facebook. But rather than discuss the editorial Reich wrote with its macroeconomic Peronist twaddle, I asked a simple, personal question.
So let's assume that Reich is correct and you've got the thing nailed down. The super-rich are controlling the country. They aren't controlling it so tightly that they're aware of what you, personally, are doing. Your life isn't under the view of Government Satellites and their Beams. So, seriously, go double your income. However you can do it. Change your career, go back to school, take multiple jobs, work a hundred hours a week, whatever. Not to pay taxes, but to learn how. Then double it again and double it again. Find the spot at which you cross over from good to evil, from honest earner to dishonest money-stealer. There must be one, right? Where is it?
We'll see what kind of discussion this engenders, but I think it's an important one to have. There are people behind the statistics, both on the rich side and the poor side. What are they like? What are they doing?

I have friends who are bank executives and ones that are partners in law firms. They don't seem evil to me. They volunteer their time to worthy causes, they donate lots of money and they seem to work in an ethical fashion. Are they wicked and greedy? Do they work for the wicked and greedy? Are they doing it unwittingly? Are they too ignorant to notice what Robert Reich understands completely?

Who is this? Do you work for him? Would you know if you did?

1 comment:

Mostly Nothing said...

There is a family at our small private high school. They used to volunteer a lot, and work at the Viking games and Wild games to help pay tuition, like I do.

Then there business took off, huge Now, they still volunteer all the time. The wife is the coordinator to the basketball team volunteers. They work the concession stand at our football games and our basketball games.

Last year, they paid for every student that showed up to the playoff games to get in, and gave them $5 for concessions (neutral sight). For 2 games.

Then there was the after party for Prom last spring. They rented out Nicolodean Universe at Mall of America including snacks and drinks (Starbucks? Caribu?) all night long. That also included the buses to get the kids there. Just to provide a safe, fun thing for the kids to do all night.

Certainly not evil. Not greedy. Good people, good Christians.