Redistributing the Wealth?

With the inauguration of a great speaker (note: I did not say “great man”) into the White House, a recurring theme that was spoken of throughout the election campaign process crept to the forefront of my mind: Redistribution of Wealth. This term was used many times by Senator McCain to describe part of Obama’s plan to help the economy. It got me thinking…what if we applied this term to sports? I’m the kind of person who does very well understanding things if they’re put into sports terms, so let’s give it a shot. Here are a few ways to “redistribute the sports wealth”.

Suggestion: Let’s take (arguably) the 10 best players in the NBA, listed below:

LeBron James
Kobe Bryant
Kevin Garnett
Chris Paul
Tim Duncan
Dwyane Wade
Deron Williams
Dwight Howard
Yao Ming
Carmelo Anthony

OK, let’s take those 10 players and distribute them among the 10 worst teams in the league over the last few years (again, list is arguable):

Los Angeles Clippers – LeBron James
Oklahoma City Thunder – Kobe Bryant
Sacramento Kings – Kevin Garnett
Memphis Grizzlies – Chris Paul
Charlotte Bobcats – Tim Duncan
Washington Wizards – Dwyane Wade
Minnesota Timberwolves – Deron Williams
New Jersey Nets – Dwight Howard
Indiana Pacers – Yao Ming
New York Knicks – Carmelo Anthony

What do you guys think? Definitely would level the playing field. And it seems so simple: take the best players and redistribute them to the poorest teams.

What? What do you mean this is a bad idea? Stupid, even?

Disagree? OK, take this redistribution and apply it to baseball. How about Alex Rodriguez goes to the Kansas City Royals, Albert Pujols goes to the Pittsburgh Pirates, David Ortiz goes to the Washington Nationals, and so on?

Or in football terms: Peyton Manning to the Detroit Lions, Larry Fitzgerald to the Kansas City Chiefs, Tom Brady to the St. Louis Rams, etc.

OK, so maybe sports aren’t your thing and the point hasn’t completely sunk in yet. Maybe you’re more business-savvy. Why don’t we take Bill Gates and make him the CEO of General Motors?

Perhaps you’re really into celebrities and Hollywood. Let’s take Steven Spielberg and force him to only direct movies with low budgets and D-list actors. And Tom Hanks, you may only do movies with directors who are directing their first-ever film. Seems like the right thing to do, right?

You can take this “redistribution of wealth” plan and apply it to any and every part of the American way of life. Funny thing though: after looking at the redistribution of wealth idea in some other terms, it just doesn’t seem to make quite as much sense.

It’s going to be a very interesting 4 years. I just pray that’s all it takes for Americans to realize we just made a big mistake.