All right, so Smithsonian head Lawrence Small has resigned under fire for his champagne lifestyle. Dude spent $31,000 for uphostlery for his office furniture, $12,000 for the upkeep of his pool, $273,000 for housekeeping services, and god-knows-what on frivolous travel and entertainment. His annual compensation package was $915,000, which I gather was a cut in pay from his former gigs at Citicorp and Fannie Mae.Â
This was the same guy whose dapper photo appeared at the beginning of the mag–dressed, no doubt, in a frivolously expensive suit. Small, supposedly, was the figurehead for American culture and art. So every time I renewed my subscription, I was paying to help clean his house?
I think of Franklin and Elinor Roosevelt. They had more money than Small could ever dream of, yet lived simply, refused to spend a dime on remodeling the White House, and even Roosevelt’s retreat at Warm Springs was little more than a cottage. Small, who did indeed raise a billion dollars for The Smithsonian but apparently spent it just as readily, could stand to learn that sense of self-sacrifice.
But I don’t expect that he, or the thousands of other execs who are annually paid millions while 41% of Americans go without health insurance, can comprehend that kind of integrity. Spoiled Baby Boomers, they’ve somehow convinced themselves that they’re worth it, when of course nobody is. Small represents that sort of vulgar excess and greed. Where will it all lead? Where it always does: either social ruin or revolution if left unchecked.
Either way, I’ll still renew my subscription. Is that akin to Nero playing the violin? Naw, I just like the articles.