"I think they should. That's an example of taking responsibility. I think that if you are already worth tens of millions of dollars, and you are having to lay off workers, the least you can do is say, 'I'm willing to make some sacrifice as well, because I recognize that there are people who are a lot less well off, who are going through some pretty tough times.’"
- President-elect Barack Obama, when asked in an interview with ABC News' Barbara Walters if U.S. banking executives should forgo large bonuses. (Source: ABC News)
I would have thought this perfectly obvious. But sadly when you have auto company CEO's flying to Washington DC in private jets to beg for tax payer money, apparently it is not so obvious. I wonder if the rich are so entitled that they just can't seem the grasp the obvious.
That of course, sends warning bells off in my own mind as a privileged white male. How to I make use of my privilege in such obvious ways to others while I'm completely ignorant of it?
2 comments:
Robert, this is an excellent post! We're too busy looking at the privilege-enjoying behavior of others to notice that to some degree we're all doing the same thing.
Thank you for a thought-provoking entry. I took the liberty of running with it today on my blog.
Thanks for your kind words! You are always welcome to run things from here on your blog (considering how much I manage to borrow from yours!)
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