This Wiz Ain't No Humbug!

Trey Smith

Near the end of The Wizard of Oz, the wizard is accused of being -- and acknowledges that he indeed is -- a humbug. Daniel Radcliffe, who portrayed another famous wizard, most definitely is not!!

The young actor said something recently that I would call a breath of fresh air.

I think, if you make a lot more money than most people - like I do - you should pay more tax and subsidise people who work just as hard as you, but don't earn as much.

Imagine that! This young man recognizes that how hard a person works and how much a person earns doesn't necessarily match up in this world.

Compare this attitude to most rich snots! In their narrow view, people who earn less undoubtedly don't work as hard as they do. What's more mind-blowing is that many of these rich snots don't even work! They primarily live off of the investment income of their parents and grandparents.

Besides, I would wager that, if you put up a ditch digger, meat processing plant worker or nurse's aide against a hedge fund manager or almost any other CEO type, the manual laborers and factory personnel could run rings around the big wigs. Most of the rich snots would have to take a long breather, while the manual workers kept chugging along.

By and large in our society -- it has been much the same throughout history -- the people who work the hardest are among the least paid.