Conan the Rich Barbarian

Really? $45 MILLION to LEAVE A JOB? That is absurd. I have been chased out, asked to leave and even left with no bridges burned, but I have never been offered money to quit. Is this what we have come to? You now get paid to leave a job? Correct me if I am wrong, but a job is a privilege, not a right.

Conan O'Brien is getting paid to leave NBC! As they say, that is a good gig - if you can get it.

Have we really skewed our values so far to the bottom line that we reward a job not completed? We shouldn't be surprised in the day of super million bonuses, college coach buy-out clauses and about as much loyalty to the employee-employer relationship as to a prom date.

It goes along with everything we stand for as a society. When we used to honor longevity, we now pay off annoyance and disagreement. When a handshake used to suffice, now eyewitness reports, a police record and three written testimonials get a fender replaced. In my grandfather's day, if he collided with another driver they exchanged phone numbers, one admitted fault, and Pap-pap agreed to pay the bill for repairs. Oh, and the check cleared, too. Not today! Insurance is not just a business - it has become a necessity because things like trust and honor were watered down by greed and wanting more, more, damnit, more!

I will not apologize to supporters of absolute capitalism any longer. Yes, capitalism has done amazing things and is the best system we have formulated to this point in history. It is not a perfect system; after all, anything made by man in concept or in material will never be perfect. Capitalism works, but it is flawed. I would not have this laptop to write upon if it were not for the distribution of commerce and job creation that has resulted from a global economy. As well, I would never have gone to college, I would probably not own a home, and my kids would not have had what we define as a "nice" Christmas. But, come on!

NBC is paying $45 million to get rid of the guy who earns them money so that they can bring back the guy who will bring them more money? Okay, that makes sense. Ratings and the dollars they bring are akin to some quasi-modern combination of racketeering plus indulgences plus slavery. It's just out of hand.
Will Conan send a heartfelt check for $45 million to Haiti to offset the disaster? Probably not, but at least he divvied up $12 million of the "deal" to his staff and co-workers. Gee, he is all heart, ain't he?

Will Charlie Weis kick some of his extra cash (that he doesn’t have to work to earn from Notre Dame!) to a Chiefs fan who has never been able to afford a ticket to Arrowhead? Doubt it!

Another disadvantage of our hyper-interest in media is that we seldom hear about the good things that wealthy people do. My guess is that Conan and Charlie do a lot of charity work, but that story would not make headlines. We don’t want to read that!

Capitalism in its purest state is intended to make ENOUGH profit for a company to survive and develop. Afterwards, any extra money is supposed to build libraries, enhance schools, help the truly needy and move the community forward. You will hear someone say (and you might be one of them) that all companies have a number of charitable causes to which they donate. True, but ask if it is enough. And do not kid yourself into thinking that donating to charity is not a strategy! I have been in that meeting myself. Corporations evaluate which charities to contribute to based on how much benefit the tax break will be when they write off the contribution later. I have been in meetings with two different companies both asking that same question. Don't tell me it doesn't happen elsewhere. Besides, I haven't worked in many places.

Don't even get me started on the basic concept that we write off a charitable donation in the first place.

The ugly truth is quite simple - we have gone too far. Granted, it is our own doing - a supply and demand for entertainment - that has elevated salaries for television and movie stars. I don't begrudge O'Brien for making the money he has made; but I admonish my generation for pumping so much interest into the entertainment world to allow for millions to be tossed around like bottlecaps.

Do the people who flock to idols and housewives and views and win-frees spend as much time teaching their children right from wrong? Do we still tell our kids that they will need to be responsible parents themselves? Do we dare to talk with our children about why the divorce rate is so high? That relationships are not disposable? And not just marriage - friendships, fatherhoods, motherhoods, the reasons we throw our parents into nursing homes!?

Let’s turn off late night and have family night.

Will late night TV stand in history alongside Arthur Miller and Eugene O'Neill? No! Will the next blockbuster make more money than most of us will ever see in our lives? Certainly!

Until the next post…