Should my state or federal government create a "mascot" modeled after the San Diego Chicken to rally citizens to be "fans" of government programs? Perhaps we need the "Prescription Drug Benefit Bunny" to do dance routines at nursing homes and on Florida golf courses to promote this very confusing entitlement program? Of course not -- although I do have a soft spot in my heart for Smokey the Bear :)
I pose this question in response to a short news item in today's Pioneer Press newspaper entitled, "The Many Lives of Mascots", courtesy of http://www.askmen.com . Beyond learning essential facts :) such as the "San Diego Chicken" being the "pioneer of pro sports mascots" the one factoid that most caught my attention was this one:
ROCKY -- THE DENVER NUGGETS' (NBA basketball) MOUNTAIN LION, PULLS IN IN SIX FIGURES IN SALARY
Translation if needed for my non-American, non-native English readers -- "six figures" equals US$100,000 or more in annual salary!!
Granted all Members of the US Congress get paid more than this $100,000 team mascot but that is not bad money for dressing up in a costume to entertain the masses.
The lesson here is that the wealth created for "Rocky" is not the result of some government central planner implementing a "jobs program" but is the result of free market forces/consumer spending creating a job out of essentially nothing more than the creative genius of some marketing manager trying to sell more t-shirts.
Go Drug Bunny,
Todd
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