Somebody asked me in one of the Comments why I didn't complain about Stern's multi-million dollar windfall like I did about the millions paid to executives at high profile companies. (He/She insinuated that I didn't mind crazy liberals getting rich.)
Ok, I'll complain. It doesn't matter to me whether it's a straight laced executive at Proctor and Gamble or a very spare shock jock like Stern. There comes a point where a level of compensation becomes ridiculous.
And, along those lines, it was announced today that there are 744,000 people in America who are homeless.
That's simply proof that the country is broken. Stern earns what he does because we value what he does. There are almost a million people homeless because we don't care they are on the streets tonight. And no amount of lip service can contradict that obvious fact.
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1.10.2007
Howard Stern Gets $83 Million Bonus
Somebody asked me in one of the Comments why I didn't complain about Stern's multi-million dollar windfall like I did about the millions paid to executives at high profile companies. (He/She insinuated that I didn't mind crazy liberals getting rich.)
Ok, I'll complain. It doesn't matter to me whether it's a straight laced executive at Proctor and Gamble or a very spare shock jock like Stern. There comes a point where a level of compensation becomes ridiculous.
And, along those lines, it was announced today that there are 744,000 people in America who are homeless.
That's simply proof that the country is broken. Stern earns what he does because we value what he does. There are almost a million people homeless because we don't care they are on the streets tonight. And no amount of lip service can contradict that obvious fact.
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We value what he does? You might value it, but I don't. And most of these homeless choose that lifestyle. The ones that don't choose it have places to go for temporary shelter. I have a liberal idea. Let's tax the hell out of big compensation bonuses and give it to the homeless. I think you call it wealth redistribution.
Howard Stern was a broke college graduate living out of cheap apartment trying to find any job he could when he was younger. In other words, it wasn't handed to him. He and countless others at that time had the same opportunity to become "Howard Stern" as Howard Stern did...only he is the one who did it. Same applies for doctors, athletes, CEOs, actors, singers, inventors, investors and the rest of the zillionaires. What right of mine is it to DEMAND they pay anything more than their fair percentage of taxes? Or to DEMAND they give me or some homeless person some of it. How many homeless people were once better off than Howard Stern eating peanut butter coming out of college? Quite a few. But you know, you can't do drugs, have babies at 15, play video games or rap music, wear pants at your ankles, skip school and be a thug or couch potato or spend all you money on rims and then turn around when your life is in the tank economically and get pissed because someone else went to school, worked hard, saved, and made their own luck.
Hey America! Don't like athletes salaries? STOP PAYING FOR TICKETS. STOP BUYING STUPID JERSEYS. Don't like movie star salaries?. STOP GOING TO THE MOVIES. Don't like the fact that a Home Depot exec gets a couple hundred million? DON'T SHOP THERE. We, the regular people who make modest livings...are the real crime. The real idiots.
Barry you have hit the Nail Square on the head with this one.
Collection, I can see how you agree with Barry on this. Collecting fingernail clippers doesn't pay very well. Not to worry though. They are about to give you a pay raise when they raise the minimum wage.
Exactly.
Earlier in the week a Homeless Veteran was buried and the news covered it. I was shocked to learn there is a need for a "Homeless Veteran Burial Fund." It's shocking our great country has any homeless people.
Your poor because you want to be
9:01 is right.. to some degree..
There are people who lose everything, and might temporarily be homeless, but always seem to bounce back (hilary swank?)
The coolest thing about our country is that we have the CHOICE to give our wealth away if we want. Barry if you had it your way the government would STEAL your money and give it away (wasting millions along the way).
Thats all fine and dandy until its YOUR money.
hah, Barry I HOPE someday you win the lottery so we can talk about how you marched up to the IRS office to give back to the poor people.
Thank you for this post, Barry, and for expressing your own opinion.
A lot of our veterans are homeless. We have homeless elderly people.
No one chooses to be homeless unless they have severe mental problems.
Mary Mack: There is a government website (part of Veterans Affairs) for homeless veterans.
http://www1.va.gov/homeless/
And National Coalition for Homeless Veterans.
We have a lot of homeless veterans. It's shameful.
40% of the homeless population are veterans. 25% suffer from mental illness or other type of disability. 25% are children. There is also a rise in the homeless population due to women fleeing Intimate Partner Violence.
Howard Stern didnt ask for concessions off his employees while getting a bonus like a certain Dallas based air carrier CEO did.
socialism doesn't work. plain and simple.
however IF we are going to continue to allow our parental government to take 40% of the money we earn, I would prefer that a much bigger chunk of that money go to help homeless (whether mentally ill, drug addicts, veterans, or whatever) and a much smaller chunk go to law enforcement and prisons to lock up otherwise law-abiding drug offenders.
There are 2,000 trailers from the Katrina relief that aren't being used.
I agree with the last poster. Socialism doesn't work.
The truth is, while this is a great cause and people are suffering, nothing of significance will be done. People are too consumed with their desire for Frilly's happy hour ,Allsups Burritos, J-LO's ass, and Tony Romo to really care.
Sure they say they care, but they have no action behind it. It was a nice try.
hhl...
Have you ever dealt with a drug addict?
When a drug addict is looking for a fix, there is absolutely nothing law abiding about them whatsoever. An addict will break any law without thinking twice to get his fix.
Most homeless choose that "lifestyle"...and your poor because you want to be????? Do you really belive someone wakes up one day and says, You know I choose to be poor and not know where my next meal is coming from and where my babies will sleep tnnight? OR, you know, those apartments over there are nice, but I want to keep my options open, so I think I'll just live behind this dumpster, so I can get the trash out of it to eat. NO ONE CHOOSES to be poor or homeless. It happens because its the only option left. But what about IGNORANCE and STUPIDITY? Now those ARE choices, which have apparently been made by several people on this blog. God help us all. Some of these posts are truly scary.
Like the old Pogo cartoon said (on a recurring theme of littering)--"We have found the enemy, and he is us"!
If Howard split his bonus between the 744,000 each would get $111.56 They could get a room for the night at Motel 6,get a 40oz.a happy meal and still have something left over and solve homelessness for one day.
There are too many opportunities in the United States, for anyone. People who are homeless choose to be homeless.
I am still allergic to poor people!!! Everytime I get around them I feel the need to go to ritzy steak house and order something that is listed as "market price".
He may have got a big bonus but I am losing my ass on his stock.
Urban outdoorsmen are an essential part of our culture. Just think of all the empty beer and soda cans there would be if we didn't have these productive citizens to pick them up. I say we need more of them.
I like the term "urban outdoorsmen" that is funny! I am allergic to urban outdoorsment!!!
Barry, you're rather eager to use the hoary "this country is broken" cliche. Homeless people have always existed. At least in America, churches and private organizations exist to provide for people in need. Anyone overwhelmed by the plight of the needy can always donate time or money to a shelter.
As for Stern's bonus: I hate Howard Stern. He's made a career out of vulgarity and being an a-hole. I also envy him his money.
However, what he gets paid is between him and the person paying him. The decision-makers at Sirius thought he would help them make at least that much. To them he was worth it. What the rest of us think is irrelevant.
There is no objective "worth" on what a person does. A good or service is only worth what someone else will pay for it.
6:17 - I can't believe how stupid you are. You are so out of touch with reality living in a bubble - I can't even think of what your IQ must be.
9:01 - yet another moron.
Homeless and hungry in America is inexcusable and we are all to blame. To say they chose this life is inaccurate and just plain wrong and anyone who disagrees with that needs to do some investigating and become educated in an area where ignorance seems to be bliss.
We all share the blame here. In more ways than one....
Private organizations and churches are not enough to help the homeless population. That is why we have federal policies in place to help the homeless, which is not enough either!
Most churches will not do anything significant. Besides, they need to build bigger sanctuaries and that takes precedence over aiding the suffering.
Do you people really care that much about the homeless...I do not. I did not make them homeless, and I do not want my tax dollars feeding them. I could care less if they are mentally ill, or if they were just lazy and made bad decisions. The more people that are homeless just leaves more opportunity out there for me. The homeless just need to kill themselves and save us from having to worry about them.
No, I doubt anyone would wake up one day and "choose" to be homeless. But that same person may choose to gamble, choose to philander, choose to do drugs, choose to commit crimes that result in a criminal record that kills their job chances, choose to just be lazy or choose to do any number of things that in combination ends up putting them in the position of homelessness. THAT is what these poster mean when they say someone "chooses" to be homeless. Now for little kids, veterans and others for which homelessness is not of their "choosing"...let's get it in gear.
12:49
You are exactly right...
I prefer to philander!
Let me get this straight. Out of 300 million people in this country 744,000 are homeless. Sounds like a pretty good percentage to me. Or am I just crazy.
People don't chose cancer and other catestrophic illnesses and accidents.
Churches. Bhah! I witnessed a church going woman turn a hungry couple with children away because they weren't married. Some Christian that..
Lots of hostile comments about churches. Several of the churches that I am acquainted with "adopt" needy families, provide goods and services free of charge to people who need it, and do various other "good works." The recipients are, in most cases, not members of the giving church.
It would be interesting to know how much money and/or time you members of the "somebody should do something" crowd give to help the homeless and needy.
I saw a homeless person being interviewed as to why he would not go to a homeless shelter and he said he didn't want to abide by the rules. No drugs, no alcohol, no swearing. Ok liberals, what's your answer to that one? Care to take the guy in for the night? Where is your bleeding heart now?
How many many homeless people do we have in Wise County? The only ones thatI ever see are the ones standing on 287 and I am assuming they are the insane that have been released from the Wichita Falls mental ward.
CAUSES OF HOMELESSNESS:
A lack of jobs that pay a living wage, inadequate benefits for those who cannot work, lack of affordable housing, lack of services for the mentally ill and chemically addicted, and lack of access to health care.
The system is BROKEN.
12:23: First, not all drug addicts are poor. Some of them can actually afford their habits, at least for a while.
Second, notice I said "otherwise law-abiding drug users". That's users, not addicts. While I'm not acquainted with many drug addicts (as you correctly point out), I have been acquainted with a number of responsible drug users. These persons may not in all cases be your most productive citizens (though I've known some who were), but they aren't out on the streets committing actual crimes (i.e., those with actual victims). And notice that I'm not arguing that we allow muggers, burglers, robbers, etc., to remain free.
The only point being that IF these people are not harming anyone else, leave them alone and spend the tax dollars elsewhere.
The point you are trying to make is there are more idiots who appreciate a vulgar jerk like Stern that good people to take care of the homeless. Welcome to a decaying society. Where have you been?
Stern is one vulgar man, but in some instances the old boy tells the raw truth that some of us just don't want to hear. He's just made a good living out of shocking us with obsenity.
Heck, if he'd give me some money of that bonus, I'd take it.
Wouldn't you?
Seems to me that lots of people who frequent this blog are skeptical. They're skeptical of the government, organized religion, law enforcement...and the list goes on. On the subject of being a skeptic about a relationship with Christ, please click on the link below.
http://www.skepticalchristian.com/nonbelief.htm
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