Boy are people feeling they're getting a raw deal. It seems whenever I delve into reading about people's opinions on the economy and politics they're so worried that some parasites are just draining away all their money. Go on ask yourself – can't you immediately name a lot of people, groups, institutions, etc. you think don't deserve any of your money.
What's funny is that a lot of people who are so afraid of the Parasites Stealing Money are worried about people whose lives are lousy – the unemployed, the people on welfare, the poor, etc. They're just dreadfully convinced all these unworthy people are destroying the world and so on by getting tiny amounts of money, if they get anything at all.
Meanwhile, as we look at the flaming ruins of the world economy and the smoky scent of ponzi schemes and investment vehicles designed to get around regulation, it becomes evident there are indeed parasites. Someone ran this economy into the ground and made off with a ton of money leaving nothing behind.
The parasites are the scam artists, lobbied-up politicians, and the financial fraudsters who get us into the mess. It's not some poor slob who lost his job and exhausted his unemployment that's messing the world up – it's the people with a sense of privilege and entitlement because of their title or position or their family background or their inheritance who feel they can take anything and not give anything back.
The worst part is sometimes people want to be the parasites. They admire the clueless CEO who made a ton of money while running a company into the ground. They admire the banker with the mansion who changed companies right before his collapsed in a load of scams and debt. They listen to the politician with pockets fully of special interest money because he or she can spew the right drivel.
I think people don't see them as parasites because they're "working" – in that they're doing things. These are bad things, destructive things, things driven by greed and hubris, but it at least looks like work. The world would have been much better off to have some of the parasites that caused the economic downturn sitting on the couch drinking beer than doing their "work."
Don't admire the parasites. If you do, you'll just become another jerk making things worse for all of us.
We've got to stop admiring the parasites as sure as we have to stop blaming people who've had tough times for our financial problems. This is why career issues are indeed ethical issues – it's not just the ethics of hard work, it's the ethics of doing something actually productive and worthwhile.
Don't look at the downtrodden as parasites, and don't try and be like the real parasites who got us into this mess. Go do something worthwhile.
– Steven Savage