Nothing Succeeds Like Excess

Heard a comedian (I think, Jimmy Carr) talking about how communism has only ever been effective at the level of the family unit. That's long been my assessment of it. He went on to say that democracy was the worst form of government, "except for all the others". Not my sentiment exactly, but also true. I lean towards democratic socialism. It's not perfect, but any system where you can obtain wealth for your efforts, but you also have to help others out, is a good thing in my book. You can be too rich, just as one can be too poor. No one should be either. 

These are very odd times in 2026. Soooo many filthy rich people and they just can't be happy with what they've got. They must have it all. But having it all means lording over the poors in every aspect of their already sad lives. This is late-stage capitalism as it could only work out when left unchecked by society for so long. I think the true 'trickle-down' is only available to those that can enable the vast lake of wealth to fill for the few. The flood of money only trickles down to the politicians who enable the rich to get richer. It's the easy avenue for them because helping out the masses is simply too much work. 

Look at Major League Baseball. The Dodgers, who have won the last two World Series, now have a payroll estimated at $2.5 BILLION. That's fucking insane. It doesn't guarantee them another WS, but you can sure see it from there. The Dodgers have long had the money to compete, and you can almost see why the Astros cheated to get where they were several years ago. Almost. Cheating is still wrong, even in these trumpian times. That seems to be changing though. When I was a kid, $100,000 a year was pretty much the standard for a great player. It had been that way for decades since Babe Ruth, who when he achieved that level of capitalistic success, was asked how it felt to be making more than the President of the United States. The Babe replied, "I had a better year". Yep. 

It looks to me like MLB is paying itself out of existence, kinda like the NBA has in the post Michael Jordan era. I have to say it: Athletes are making too much money. So are the owners. This weekend I was hankering to watch some NFL playoff action. I'll see my Bears tonight because I (still) have cable and the Peacock network, but to see the Denver-Buffalo game, I had to pony up $9 just to watch. A few years ago, these games were on Network TV. They still sorta are, but the leagues have figured out how to compartmentalize the viewing via streaming and lucrative contracts with the networks, cable, streaming services and the Devil himself. All that and you still get flooded with commercials. It is ridiculous. 

There's nothing we can do about it. We have to let the NFL and MLB destroy themselves along with the US, because no one can tell them that they are making too much money and hurting themselves in the process. I get that. "Nothing succeeds like success", right? Wrong, but try telling anyone that. Just like with drugs or alcohol, try telling someone who is deeply enjoying either (or both) that they are fucking up and need to get control, while they are in the throes of enjoying it. They don't even lie to themselves and say that they can quit anytime. Why should they? It's all so good. 

Some people- and some societies- have to hit rock bottom. This is where we are headed now as a nation and our sports leagues are cheerfully going along for the ride. You don't want to be left out. You don't want to cheat yourself- and your stockholders- out of their deserved fortunes. Besides, no one at these levels can fathom that it will ever end. Of course, history tells us it always does. But what does history know? It is soooo yesterday!