The Best Kind Of Stimulus: Pay Me What Professional Athletes Are Paid

Inside a cramped classroom, a young boy thinks about being outside and taking part in sports. Once the bell rings for recess he grabs his bat and glove and joins a game.

He expects to have fun, and maybe make a friend. It never crosses his mind to ask for a dime, because that's all it is—fun.

That's what it should be to grown-ups, but no, we make things so complicated.

Professional athletes expect to earn more than some countries do. To me, that is ridiculous. They are no different than us—and yet are paid handsomely for what they do.

It can be said that in our society we pay them outrageously because we can.

In addition, if someone has skills good enough to market, they should be paid well. There is no explanation that can justify one person earning $33 million (as in the case of Yankee Alex Rodriguez) when I may never see a total of a million in my life.

That is insane and unforgivable.

In this age of people trying to keep a roof over their heads, professional athletes are an abomination. If they get their way, they become selfish and elitist; if they don't, they sulk and tie down the teams they play for.

I still follow a couple of pro teams, but find it harder to be a fan than I did in years past.

I have now found a new respect for collegiate sports as well as minor league athletics. These players play with a purpose and work hard. Especially in semi-pro sports, players seem to have more loyalty to their teams than major professional athletes do.

I mean, what happened to a player having loyalty for one team and their fans?

In some ways I do respect the likes of Kobe Bryant, Tom Brady, and Lebron James, who have seemed to stay with one team rather than going for the bigger, better deal. But, again, there should be limits to what athletes are paid.

I believe each sport should be treated like any other profession; you begin at a certain salary, and as you grow and improve then you earn raises and bonuses. There should be a cap at how much a player earns, because that is the only true way to level the playing field.

In addition, money that can be saved from paying exorbitant salaries can be used to self-fund a team's need for stadium improvements or whatever else they may need instead of laying their burden on the shoulders of taxpayers.

Yet, owners keep spending as if money was no object, not realizing how badly out of hand it has gotten.

I don't accept the bailouts of the banks and the auto industry. I also don't approve of the money spent on professional athletes. At least I can have some control over the former rather rather than the latter. I can turn my channel from ESPN to ESPNU.