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Originally Posted by Snapolit1
I've never understood why it always seems like 90% of the country is more obsessed with what actual workers make than what owners of the means of production, to quote Marx, make. Putting aside politics, which I am not referencing, not a single person said to me a year ago, "isn't it an abomination that Elon Musk makes $4 million dollars an hour." But I have hear people rant about overpaid teachers making $80,000 a year, greedy cops and firefighters pulling down $30,000 a year in overtime, etc. etc.
In sports its always the greedy players, not the greedy billionaires who run things and watch their assets appreciate every year even if they fail miserably.
Have always wondered if this is an American phenomenon or something more universal.
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Your comparing apples to oranges IMO. Musk is a private businessman. Teachers and firefighters are paid by tax dollars - our dollars. That's much easier to complain about! And I think, overall, you're wrong. Just as many people complain about rich guys as they do teachers and firefighters - class envy has been around forever.
We never give credit to the owners who started professional baseball back in the day, but look at all the franchises that went out of business before baseball became the national pastime. In Detroit, we had the National League Wolverines who folded in 1888 after winning a championship in 1887. The Federal League that went belly up after two seasons, I think. No one laments the fate of the owners who put up the money for those defunct franchises and leagues, but it’s ok to hate the owners who managed to hang on through two world wars, a depression, and the general ups and downs of the economy.
I don’t pay to see the owners play baseball, and I’m certainly not saying the owners are all great guys, but this class envy stuff strikes me as childish and naive. Today’s owners have to care about the fans despite what some might think. If they didn’t, they wouldn't be the greedy capitalists some claim they are, would they? And a business that doesn’t make money isn’t a business, it’s a charity.
I actually love watching baseball again since the pitch clock and other measures were taken to shorten the game times. It was getting to be 3 and half hours a game. Now it’s back to 2 and a half. It’s really made the game fun to watch again. Go Tigers!