The most galling thing about this financial crisis is that so many Wall Street types think they actually deserve not only their huge bonuses and lavish lifestyles but the awesome political power their own mistakes have left them in possession of. When challenged, they talk about how hard they work, the 90-hour weeks, the stress, the failed marriages, the hemorrhoids and gallstones they all get before they hit 40.
"But wait a minute," you say to them. "No one ever asked you to stay up all night eight days a week trying to get filthy rich shorting what's left of the American auto industry or selling $600 billion in toxic, irredeemable mortgages to ex-strippers on work release and Taco Bell clerks. Actually, come to think of it, why are we even giving taxpayer money to you people? Why are we not throwing your ass in jail instead?"
Word. I hate how people use, "I worked really hard," as their justification for every goddamn unjust thing they do in this country. "Sure, I'm brutally exploiting people, but it is hard work." "Hey man, its true that my job pays me obscene sums to devise ways to keep insurance companies from having to pay sick people but I work really hard." "Designing new SUVs that will capture public interest, thus ensuring the continued burning of unsustainable amounts of fossil fuels is a lot of work."
I'm not gonna strain myself too much saying this, but fuck you. Maybe its time for us, as a society, to stand up and actually make some goddamn informed decisions about what sort of work does and does not deserve reward, instead of just blindly following some Puritan impulse to throw money at anyone who can make a convincing case for having followed some BS protestant capitalist work ethic.
If you'll excuse me I'm going to go back to goofing off listening to NPR's Saturday Afternoon Opera and slowly writing my government funded dissertation. Look at it this way. At least I'm not working hard to blow up the economy or doom the fucking planet.
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