Greedy Monsters

Nowadays, it seems redundant and cliché to discuss corruption within our government, major corporations, and other entities that wield significant power over most of us. Wether it be political corruption in the state of Illinois, Cabinet nominees failing to pay taxes, or CEO's running Ponzi schemes, there is enough dishonesty in the United States to make one wonder whether or not it has always been like this in the good old U.S. of A. Was "honest Abe" really that virtuous? Did John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin and the rest of the Founding Fathers partake in the rotten acts of greed and selfishness that so many individuals have presently engaged themselves in? How on earth did our President nominate an individual to his Cabinet who neglected to pay his taxes? It is worrisome, shocking, and sad all at the same time. At least it is comforting to know that our banks are using their portions of the $700 billion bailout package (funded by us taxpayers) wisely. Bank of America used their money to sponsor "the NFL Experience"-- an 850,000 square foot venue that provided all sorts of fun entertainment for Super Bowl fans. Wells Fargo was going to throw a huge party for its top employees in Las Vegas until an outrage of public criticism stopped execs from doing so--albeit very begrudgingly. 

Yesterday, Dateline NBC ran a report on CEOs, which noted that they are a completely different breed of animal than we are. It was stated that one CEO refuses to fly with a major airline because he does not want to rub shoulders with or acquire germs from other flyers. Other execs cannot bear to imagine leaving their private jets behind or having to stay in four star hotels instead of five star hotels. A few days ago, President Obama announced that all CEO's who received government aid would receive no more than $500,000 in annual compensation. That sounds like horse-bull to me. These execs will find some sort of loophole that allows them to keep receiving their $20,000,000 annual pay checks. Besides, $500,000 is still too much for the dirty execs that receive my money. I would have capped their annual pay at $50,000 a year. How long will this last? Will it get worse? Similar to what exists in so many screwed up and suffering countries, will the majority in America see more and more things controlled by an elite minority? If sin continues to exist in this world, you can bet your inflated dollar that all of these things--and so much more--will most certainly occur. May God have mercy on all of us.