It is interesting that President Obama feels the solution to our economic problems is to tax “millionaires and billionaires” and “private jet owners.” In the interest of brevity, no doubt he could leave out the private jet owners because I can’t imagine they are not entirely included in the former group. I certainly don’t have a private jet. Now since Obama is such a sports fan who loves to bring top tier entertainers to the White House, my suggestion is that as a start, he gathers his gang of friends and creates what I will name the “Sports and Entertainment Stars Economic Recovery Plan.” Under this plan, Obama would get his group of buddies to write super huge checks (say, around 50% of their enormous wealth), to the federal government and designate where their voluntary “donations” will go. Just think of all of the good will this will generate, and we could even give this magnanimous effort a sweet tag line such as “Doing good, while doing good.” And it will prove that the only greedy people actually are corporate CEOs, just as liberals say.
As we all know, much of the concentration of wealth in America is decidedly skewed towards the entertainment and sports industries. Just how many CEOs do you know that make over $100 million a year like Lady Gaga, along with Obama’s favorite couple Jay-Z and Beyoncé? Johnny Depp is making in excess of $50 million per movie in his role as Captain Jack Sparrow of the Pirates of the Caribbean film series. Will Smith brings in about $20 million per film. And let’s not forget Oprah, who is bringing in over $200 million per year! The NFL pays out roughly $4 billion to about 1696 players (32 teams x 53 players), which is an average of $2.36 million per player. Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning hauls in $14 million each year in salary and another $14 million in endorsements, while New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady just signed a contract worth $72 million that guarantees him $48 million. And of course, Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant takes home in excess of $20 million. So I think sports and entertainment stars are a good place to start to help our economy.
Personally, I couldn’t care less what sports and entertainment stars make. It doesn’t even register on my radar. But since so many advocate liberal causes and are Obama fans (and I’m not saying that is all mentioned above), one would think they would be the first to come to Obama’s aid to fill the federal government coffers in the interest of “spreading the wealth around,” as President Obama likes to say. After all, without a population of adoring fans, none of these figures would be making this kind of money, as sports and entertainment are pretty low on Maslov’s hierarchy of needs. Yet somehow those who have the least seem to spend an inordinate amount of their money that adds up to the enormous wealth of these stars. So it would only be fair for the stars to “give back” in a big way since they have far more than they need, with some having more than they could ever spend in a lifetime.
So my plan is that President Obama kicks off the economic recovery plan, followed by his sports and entertainment friends, particularly the ones who have visited and/or entertained at the White House, and that they then encourage the other big money sports and entertainment stars to follow suit on this most important plan. It would be a grand thing, and for those who like the “just a little bit more” tax increase rhetoric, it would be an exemplary display of putting their money where their mouths are. Additionally, it would be consistent with the American way, as our government was not designed to redistribute wealth, but to provide ample economic opportunity so the maximum number would succeed financially and be able to take care of their own as well as their neighbors in need. In the words of failed California governor hopeful Meg Whitman, “Let’s get this done!”
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