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Some thoughts on the @washingtonpost article about an NFL owner buying a $100 million yacht, which has been the subject of some debate on Twitter today: first the personal perspective, then I’ll touch on policy. 1/ washingtonpost.com/sports/2019/01…
I was raised not to be angry about other people’s wealth. As a kid, we would periodically drive through Miami’s fancy neighborhoods to admire the houses. 2/
Rather than instill a sense of envy towards the people that lived there, my mom (a refugee from Cuba who achieved the American Dream) instilled in us a sense of possibility and dreaming that we could live in places like these some day if we worked hard and did well in school. 3/
In our house, she did not preach the gospel of envy. Instead, it was a different gospel. In the event we did achieve success one day, the lessons of Luke 12:48 (To whom much is given, much is expected) would apply. 4/
Only, the emphasis was on giving back of my own free will because it was the right thing to do, rather than something that should be forced by the hand of government. ... Now my policy reaction to this sorry. Let’s begin by breaking down some of the things this purchase means: 5/
Supports manufacturing jobs in boating, electronics & architecture sectors, creates jobs for boat crew that manages a ship of that size, will generate income for maintenance & other contracting jobs that inevitably arise, supports jobs at the docks it will be docked at, etc. 6/
So maybe, instead of doubling down on status quo of a higher ed system that graduates students with 6-figure debts,we should promote high value degrees, career & technical ed. & apprenticeships that lead people away from useless debt-ridden degrees & more to jobs making boats 7/
However, and this might be a new detail for those who didn’t bother to read the article before plunging headfirst into the Twitter debate today, the boat was built in the Netherlands. 8/
So the most important impulse I’d like our political leaders to have when they read the article is not, “You see, this is why we need to collect more of this billionaire’s money via taxes.” 9/
Instead, their 1st impulse should be: “What policies do we need to adopt or modify so that the best ‘superyachts’ are made in the U.S. - so that when American billionaires & multi-millionaires go buy one (and foreigners too), they buy it here and not from a Dutch company?” 10/10
