The following comments are brief but we think you’ll find them interesting and maybe you’ll even agree with some of them. (1) First, Pro golfer Greg Norman, formerly number 1 in the world of men’s golf, has revealed a seamy side as he tries to launch a new pro golf tour. This tour would be based in Saudi Arabia and has been sharply criticized by the American Pro Golfers Association. As usual money is the issue. Greg wants to siphon away the top US pros to his tour. But the advertisers who sponsor the US tour are balking at the dilution of talent here and the loss of viewers. The ad folks cannot tolerate that so the PGA of America hid their money-based objections and instead slammed the Saudi Arabian Crown Prince for his role in murdering and dismembering Journalist Jamal Kashoggi. Unfortunately Phil Mickelson, an American pro, stuck his foot in his mouth by calling out the American tour officials. It’s a mess and an obvious display of mutual greed.
(2) Second, a colorized picture of Marilyn Monroe recently sold at auction for $195 million. Our first question is: how did someone so stupid get his/her hands on $195 million? Then we ask ourselves “why would anyone want such a picture”? Next, can you imagine how much food, shelter, clothing and other necessities could have been purchased with $195 million? Less than 1% of the population controls 40% of total US wealth. Are we approaching a parallel time in the US with the same mentality as the French peasants in the 1780’s? The insensitivity of super wealth does not play well with the masses. We all know how the French Revolution played out. It would be wise for the wealthy of this country to share some of their bounty with the growing underserved society.
(3) Third, our local newspaper maintains a feedback internet site where local journalists post comments and ask for readers to chime in. Last week a sportswriter commented about baseball game length and we responded that all the rule changes either proposed or added will not shorten games because any time saved is consumed by more advertising. The first time we offered that comment the entire article and responses were removed within 3 hours. Later in the week a similar posting talked about game length and we posted the same ad money comment. This second time the entire article was taken down in less than one hour. Truth is not popular. Newspapers, TV and all media live off ad money and the sooner we, the viewers, take issue with overwhelming commercial interruptions the sooner we will see games at reasonable lengths.
(4) Fourth, this is a consumer alert. COVID and many other factors have shuffled the deck of employees in every part of the US economy. “Hiring” signs now mean “warm bodies”. You no longer need to be screened for two heads, Communist Party affiliations, drug use, etc. The result: most retail businesses are lacking qualified well-trained staff. Example: we went to the same drive-thru restaurant 3 week-ends in a row and received the wrong order three times in a row. We played at the same golf course every week and every week the cost for the same number of holes was different. Our point: question everything because the odds are in your favor if you suspect your being overcharged.
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