See Bill Maher speak. See Bill Maher make people angry. See Bill Maher Make Sense.
On this week’s Real Time on HBO, the comedian/commentator went on a rant about how well socialism works. Unsurprisingly, not everyone liked it.
But if you use the link to the video and watch Bill Maher’s “The NFL is a socialist group and it works” diatribe and judge it as a commentary on the ways inventive people implement business change rather than a call for full-out socialist revolution, it . . . makes sense.
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Bill Maher Video: Socialism, Capitalism, and The NFL (NSFW) |
Let’s look at the main points of Mr. Maher’s commentary:
- The NFL is wildly successful
- NFL football is by far the most popular sport in the USA, and is enjoyed by many “Socialism is un-American” types
- The NFL derives a huge portion of its revenues from one source, and then splits that revenue evenly among all of its teams even though those teams aren’t otherwise “equal”
- As a result of this socialistic act of revenue sharing, teams that would otherwise be weak can compete, and the NFL produces a better product
I’m sold.
No, I’m not advocating for pure socialism (whatever that is!). And the NFL is far from a pure socialist environment; the 32 teams are all ultimately responsible for their own bottom lines and the teams playing in impossibly small markets—like Green Bay, Wisconson—net far less money than teams in New York, Chicago, Dallas, and other big cities.
But some sharing of wealth works, for everybody.
That’s the theory behind coopetition. It’s often where business change comes from. And yes, it’s me advocating for Universal Health Care.
Don’t turn off your thoughts just because something sounds scary. Business Change works, and sometimes socialism is exactly the business change you need.
…Bill Maher is a comedian actor writer and producer most famous for his political satire Politically Incorrect. The TV series in which Maher hosted four guests from the world of entertainment and politics for a discussion of current events ran from 1994-2002. The show was cancelled after comments Maher made responding to and others calling the September 11 terrorist attacks cowardly. Maher stated We have been the cowards lobbing from 2 000 miles away.
As Mr. Maher explains it, Socialism is the most efficient way to milk the most revenue from the largest number of unwitting donors.
. . .funny, Socialism is also the way to create the largest pool of unwitting donors…talk about synergy.
The NFL’s socialism has the same consequences as politically driven socialism always does. It ensures that economically non-viable and unsound programs and ideas are treated as if they were just as valuable as those which are sound and sustainable.
The objective of Socialism is and only is, to prepare the masses for plunder by the rich/government/banker’s cabal.
It works for football fans and it works for work-a-day citizens.
I was just kidding up top, Mr Maher did NOT explain the relationship between Socialism and the unwitting masses it creates for harvesting. I’m sure he understands it but hey…those corporate advertisers get snippy when the someone threatens to let the cat out of the bag.