I read that Briney Spears is an $120 million a year economy. She doesn’t get all that $120 million (so do gossip magazines, the paparazzi photographers and guys selling Britney Spear’s hair on E-bay). The Tiger Woods economy might be much larger. On the other hand, the Sanjay K. Jha economy probably stops at his earnings.

Good idea! Let’s put a helmet and shoulder pads on these highly paid executives and let them get chased around the gridiron by 300 pounds football players wanting to crush them into the ground.

Tim, good point. I would like to see movie stars and pop stars included in this list or one like it.

Time for a cap on athlete/actor compensation?

Jeff: Sure, if they recieved bailout money.

The money list should just focus on executives instead of athletes and entertainers. The latter group work publicly for our entertainment. While the others work in private only to enrich themselves while screwing over their competitions and people at the bottom of their corporation. These people need to held to the fire on how and how much their wealth is earned.

While we are on the topic of compensating kings…let’s not forget Obama’s Chief Economic Advisor, Larry Summers. This elitist took home $5.2 million last year courtesy of hedge fund, D.E. Shaw (not to mention millions more from an array of current TARP recipients). The journalistic integrity of this publication is clearly lacking. What started out as an icon of the counter culture has turned into just another purveyor of corporatocratic schlock. To think that a former antiestablishment powerhouse such as RS would not seize on the opportunity to point out the utter contempt for the general public that this revelation indicates is astonishing to say the least. Our President who ran on a platform that promised “change we can believe in” is administrating the same elitist, consolidation of the oligarchy that has gone on for 30 years. How the hell is anything going to be changed, let alone improved, by an administration that refuses to ditch the same reconstituted excuse for leadership that got us to this point in the first place?

There is some fear in the rich. They dropped $1 billion worth in spending on conventions since that AIG thing. That’s $1 billion the little guys didn’t get, because the rich didn’t want the bad publicity. If the poor and middle class can’t buy anything because they can’t afford to buy stuff and the rich aren’t buying because they don’t want to be attacked by angry mobs, then who is going to drive the economy?

Greg, it’s people saving money that drives the economy. We just can’t allow the banks that hold those savings accounts to deal in derivatives anymore.

Coach-

Spending money drives the economy. Saving is important too for the all-around strength of the economy, but without spending, there is no point in investing money that savings make possible. Concerning derivatives, you are being way too reactionary. There is nothing inherently wrong with derivatives. In fact, used properly, they can lead to more stable prices. Current problems with derivatives have resulted from irresponsible investments strategies. Going forward, perhaps under a new regulatory framework, or perhaps just with a greater interest being paid by the financial sector to the measurement of associated risks, derivatives investment should, and most definitely will, continue. This class of securities is in its infancy. Given time to mature, the better pricing of risk that derivatives enable will lead to an improved understanding of risk in general and how to distribute it in such a way as to mitigate against sharp downturns in the markets and the economy. It’s definitely a slippery slope, but not one that we shouldn’t be afraid to stand on. Derivatives are a good innovation and we should not be afraid to learn from our mistakes.

“but every once in a while, force is needed to get up and stand up for one’s rights.” No, it is not. We’ve been shown time and again the power of peaceful resist.ance to effect meaningful change. Moses, Jeshua, Ghandy, Mandela, MLK, Zuma… etc etc ad in.fin.itum.

“Godspeed, people of Iran.”
Agreed, power of EarthShine to the people of the Persia.

“more and more of a clampdown has been enacted” You mean like when Bush denied the people a free ex.pres.sion of their disgust by penning them up like cattle in “protest zones” and removing people with off.ens.ive t-shirts from GOP rallies?

“Any fight for freedom has to come from within Iran, from its people. ” yes, any STRUGGLE for freedom has to come from within. specifically from within individuals, to free themselves from slavery to an ex.ploi.ter, most of all the dark side.