Why do some folks whine about the bankers whilst lavishing their sports heroes?

Gotta say, this is one of the biggest head scratchers.

Many, many of those who complain the loudest about the bankstas, CEO's etc.. just can't give enough money to their ball kickers, hitters and throwers. My first thought is about the European soccer leagues, attended religiously by the masses, with players on 100K/wk plus! I'm sure the same is the case in the US, with NFL stars etc... (same could be said for singers, actors, dj's etc)

So, why complain about the corporate big earners but not give a hoot about the ball players?

It's hardly ideologically consistent is it?

 

I brought that up in political science class with my professor who was discussing the theories on halves and halve nots. He describes sports players as halvenots because they are not the owners and I asserted that with the money they make they can easily diversify their money into various investments, maybe start a couple businesses and very well become as if not more successful as the owners of said teams they worked for. He insisted that I was wrong and that they are halvenots and gave no explanation. I demanded he explained himself and just flashed his phd status in my face and sorta moved on as if that was a valid argument. It was irritating to say the least.

Needless to say I trolled him for the remainder of the semester.

 

I hate arrogant professors like that

To the OP, it's really very simple. For most people, politics isn't about policy it's about trying to come up with a reason to take wealth from people they don't like and give it to people they do like (generally themselves).

Once you accept this and see politics for what it is, you will be started upon your journey towards becoming a conservative. This is because conservatism (in any form) accepts human nature for what it truly is instead of pretending that it is something else like western liberalism does.

 

I don't know if I am a conservative as much as I just want to see liberals suffer as much as humanly possible. Not humanely possible, humanly...hehe

 

A further reply to the OP... it goes way beyond sports stars, singers, etc. Here in California, they are always talking about taxing "the rich" but the richest people out there, not only in the state of California but amongst the entire world, are the tech companies and Hollywood types based in California and they are not taxed at all as industries or corporations by our state government.

So when liberal Californians talk about raising taxes, what they really mean is raising federal taxes upon banking and stock broker types (who live in New York, a different state) and then using the federal system to funnel money out of New York's state and into California, without having to tax some of the richest people in the world who actually live in their state.

Consider what I posted above... liberals these days are more than bad that everyone should feel like this

 

Consider what I am saying: If everyone who is a conservative stopped focusing on their status as a conservative and focused all of that energy into pure and raw hatred towards liberals we would live in a far cleaner society.

 

So aren't these Labour/Dem supporting sports fans, just hypocrites?

I mean, how can the working man call for socialism when he goes along with these massive wages and benefits for the ball kickers?

 

Dude. You will seriously find this hypocrisy in a lot of socialists/lefties and even conservatives to be quite honest.

 

They are, yes. There's really nothing else that can be said about it. They will never start giving the ball kicker money to firemen or anything. There will never be fireman trading cards. They are every bit as hypocritical as the worst bankster, just not as smart when it comes to investing. So eventually you say to yourself, I don't actually like banksters, but I dislike banksters less than I dislike people who are basically banksters that are too stupid to make a good investment.

Fast forward a few years and you are voting for Republicans in an off-season election.

 

I am glad I'm not a Liberal, even though I get accused of it often enough

 

Here we play basketball and from ~300.000 register players only like 200 make a living wage out of it , same case in football.

 

You can find them right here on PF defending actors who make 23 million dollars for two months of work, but the same people think a CEO who worked four jobs to pay for his education in business to one day become successful through hard work is somehow evil. No it isn't consistent because these people are incapable of comprehending hypocrisy.

 

I agree. Here's where I don't mind that sports stars make mega money....it's supply and demand and I'm perfectly fine with someone getting paid to play a game, or recieve their education for free, because they can throw catch, or kick a ball well. If I had the talent, I would have done it myself.


or acting....



or being a CEO of Big Oil/Big Tobacco/ Apple



Big Oil runs on a 1-4% profit margin, while liberal companies like Apple run on 60% profit margins..... yet big oil is made out to be evil? They simply move a lot of product is why they make such huge money....

 

To play devil's advocate in my own thread I could perhaps suggest that:

The ball stars, actors and singers have an audience based on leisure, whereas the others are essential - could that be factored in and used as an excuse for the hypocrisy?

 

It only started after the GFC and then it was partly understandable. Here were a small group of people - bankers - that caused a huge amount of people around the world to suffer by kicking off the GFC. But, hardly any were punished for their actions and a number simply went on to make money from it. At the same time, many countries introduced austerity measuers while propping up the banks that had caused the mess. When what should have happened is the banks should have been allowed to fail or even given a push over the edge.

 

Many CEOs and bankers seek economic rent, while athletes get paid to produce entertainment at a value set by the free market. I don't see what's so difficult to understand.

 

agreed, however the high salaries for the entertainers puts up other costs, indirectly - so it's not without affect on the community.

eg: if ball player gets 100K/wk then my cable TV bill goes up, whether I watch his sport or not

 

Sports "heroes" do not steal from anyone and they are renting their services for a price so in a way they are self employed .
Banksters are profiting with either other people's money or non existing one , have you ever see Messi leveraging his account?

 

Big Oil provides a luxury item.... your reliance to that product is of your own choosing. Work closer to home, or from home. Ride a bike to work. Walk to the grocery store.

Big Tobacco provides a luxury item.... as dangerous as we all know it is.... every single one of the people who smoke CHOSE to smoke of their own free will


McDonalds provides a product. Cheap food quick.

actors and ball players provide entertainment.


supply and demand, and I'm fine with all of it.



My dream job... the one job I would leave my current profession for tomorrow, if the opportunity arose..... a voice over actor for a hit cartoon series. The dude who does Homer Simpson's voice has talent and can do 1000's of voices..... but Lisa Simpson's voice, Yeardly Smith.... only does Lisa Simpson, and it's her actual voice and makes millions per episode.

Supply and demand... but imagine being the next big "spongebob" charector

 

Pretty sure these primadonnas levarage their salaries to the max - ie: say they will leave the club if they don't get their exact demands met

and that money comes from the working man/woman

 

Because athletes can't manipulate and counterfeit currency with the backing of the bought government, unlike bankers.

 

Because one group crashed the global economy with barely any repercussions, and continues to perpetuate oligarchy, while the other will be broke 10 years after they retire?

 

Broke through their own stupidity perhaps, but that hardly lets them off the hook.

 

They do not and after Bosman rule what they do is fully exploiting their only talent and this is it , at the other hand banksters are exploiting administrations and common folk .
Clubs are usually not owned by working men/women (Barcelona does tho but it operates with profit) . If you take a look in football club spending over 80% goes to wages , i wish this was the case in all other jobs.

 

You think oil is a luxury?!?

Without oil EVERYTHING comes to a halt. It's as important as electricity. I'm sure you know that without trucks, everything in America comes to a halt. Those trucks require diesel fuel to deliver everything from your "cheap quick food" at McDonald's to the 2x4 studs, sheetrock and electrical wiring that your dwelling is constructed from and everything in between.

Just because you don't have a car and choose to ride a bike/walk doesn't mean you are not a direct beneficiary of oil. Unless you live of the land in the wild somewhere, make your own clothes, tools, ect...