Friday, November 02, 2007
Bilevel economy, part 2
Must admit I don't waste any sympathy on the Hollywood figures who were 'suspended' by the Inquisition, either the 1950 or the 2007 version. The rules in both cases are obvious even to an outsider, so they must be even more obvious from the inside. And for heaven's sake, it's not hard to obey the rules. In 1950, you simply didn't work for the Soviets; in 2007, you simply don't say nigger in any circumstances.
Omitting an activity is by definition easier than performing an activity, and the rewards for staying inside the lines are unimaginably great! Paul Harvey mentioned this morning that Britney Spears's income was made public in some sort of divorce hearing. She grosses $780,000 per month, and doesn't save or invest any of it. Spends it all and more.
$780 K each month. That's enough to pay a chauffeur to avoid all those DUI arrests; it's enough to pay a nursemaid to buckle your damn kids into those carseat things. It's enough to pay an assistant whose sole job is to figure out that you need to hire a chauffeur and a nursemaid.
$780 K each month. Equal to my entire lifetime earnings adjusted for inflation, and it's twice my lifetime earnings in original dollars.
We are indeed moving toward a Peru-style bilevel economy.
But am I jealous? More puzzled and astonished than jealous. Spears doesn't appear to be happy, and I'm happy. Or as close to happy as an essentially melancholy character can get. Call it contented. My crappy little house is entirely paid for, and it's in a safe neighborhood. I don't really have to work, because I did concentrate on saving; aimed to become "independently poor", and made it.
Omitting an activity is by definition easier than performing an activity, and the rewards for staying inside the lines are unimaginably great! Paul Harvey mentioned this morning that Britney Spears's income was made public in some sort of divorce hearing. She grosses $780,000 per month, and doesn't save or invest any of it. Spends it all and more.
$780 K each month. That's enough to pay a chauffeur to avoid all those DUI arrests; it's enough to pay a nursemaid to buckle your damn kids into those carseat things. It's enough to pay an assistant whose sole job is to figure out that you need to hire a chauffeur and a nursemaid.
$780 K each month. Equal to my entire lifetime earnings adjusted for inflation, and it's twice my lifetime earnings in original dollars.
We are indeed moving toward a Peru-style bilevel economy.
But am I jealous? More puzzled and astonished than jealous. Spears doesn't appear to be happy, and I'm happy. Or as close to happy as an essentially melancholy character can get. Call it contented. My crappy little house is entirely paid for, and it's in a safe neighborhood. I don't really have to work, because I did concentrate on saving; aimed to become "independently poor", and made it.
Labels: the broken circle
¶ 8:03 PM
