Occupy the NBA

Talk about corporate greed! Jerry Buss, owner of the Los Angeles Lakers, is worth about $584 million dollars. Kobe Bryant takes home over $25 million per year just for playing a game (not to mention endorsements, or the fact that he doesn't work year round).

The NBA has already cancelled the first two weeks of their season, and today they are expected the cancel another two. Why? So these multi-millionaires can hold out for more money - to make a bigger profit.

While these people dicker over money that they will use to buy another car or another house, the people who work at the sports arenas are out of work. Let's use an ultra-conservative figure and say there are 100 people employed at each of the 30 NBA venues - that's 3,000 people now unemployed, making NO MONEY so that people like Bryant, who never went to college, never worked a real job a day in their lives, can make another couple of million next year.

Did you know that Brian Moynihan, the CEO of Bank of America, makes about $1.9 million dollars a year in salary? Sure, he has options for more - those push him up to almost $4 million. He also spent seven years in college (unlike Bryant, who has no student loan debt). Moynihan is virtually facing a lynch mob for supporting his company's $60/year charge for a debit car. Meanwhile, the Lakers franchise has no problem charging you $37/ticket, not to mention the cost of food inside the arena. And what about t-shirts, programs, basketballs? Greed, greed, GREED!

Here's my challenge - if this occupy movement is really about ending corporate greed, if it's really about corruption, then I expect to see people camping out at The Palace, Madison Square Garden, and every other establishment that encourages, even supports, this kind of corporate greed. We need to demand that the government intervene - let Pelosi and Reid determine how much money NBA players should make. Let them set the schedule, regulate salaries, and, most importantly, stop charging us ridiculous fees for our right to watch a basketball game!!

There you go - OCCUPY THE NBA!

Or ...

Use your head. Treat your bank, your politicians, and your sports teams the same way you treated Netflix, and wait to see what happens.

Book Review: There You'll Find Me by Jenny B. Jones

Finley Sinclair is not your typical eighteen-year-old. She’s witty, tough, and driven. With an upcoming interview at the Manhattan music conservatory, Finley needs to compose her audition piece. But her creativity disappeared with the death of her older brother, Will.


Beckett Rush, teen heartthrob and Hollywood bad boy, is flying to Ireland to finish filming his latest vampire movie. On the flight, he meets Finley. She’s the one girl who seems immune to his charm. Undeterred, Beckett convinces her to be his assistant in exchange for his help as a tour guide.


Once in Ireland, Finley starts to break down. When is God going to show up for her in this emerald paradise? Could it be God convincing her that everything she’s been looking for has been with her all along?

***

This is the first young adult novel I've read by Jenny B. Jones, and it was every bit as entertaining, heart-breaking, and romantic as her adult novels. 


Finley and Beckett should have easy lives, both of them rich and relatively famous, but that's not enough to cover up the pain and struggles that they each endure. It's only God and his merciful love that can truly help and heal them. That's not to say that they don't fail. They face temptations and hardships like anyone else, but with faith in God they find the strength to endure.


Jones is quickly becoming my favorite author for contemporary romance. Her stories always include drama and romance, but they also include a gracious amount of humor - something I adore in fiction. If you're looking for a good romantic dramedy, look no further than "There You'll Find Me" by Jenny B. Jones.


*I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255  “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising".