Parade magazine for years ran an issue with the headline “What they earned.” The magazine listed various people–actors, sports figures, regular workers–along with the amount of money they made that year.
I was always irritated by the use of the term “earned.” A CEO who took in ten million did not “earn” that money, he (and it’s almost always a he) took in that money. He got that money. He received that money. He certainly did not EARN that money.
Now I see the following headline in the Times today: “Clintons Earned $30 million in 16 Months, Report Shows.” Most of that money came from speeches to corporations, banks, and other organizations.
It’s a tidy sum, but it was not earned.
No comments:
Post a Comment