December 19, 2025
Now here comes Connie Chung the former CBS anchorwoman. She is evidently quite upset about everything CBS. Here, she gathers her pencil shavings together, organizes them, and attempts to show us how you should run a company:
Chung said “CBS has now been taken over, thanks to greedy owners, Shari Redstone, partnering with David Ellison” and that “Their greed has caused the venerable CBS to actually disassemble, to crash into crumbles” Chung recalled that when she worked at CBS under William Paley, “he actually made it a point of allowing the news division to be autonomous and not have to worry about the bottom line” The Wrap
Standing aside from politics, I emphasize and not have to worry about the bottom line. We saw this same theme in the Jurassic Park saga, which I covered a couple of weeks ago…giving away the profits and stiffing the investors.
We advance economically because entrepreneurs and similar risk takers are willing to put up their money to create more money by offering products and services people want. If they do so, they make money. If not, they lose their money. Why liberals discuss profit with contempt shows a complete misunderstanding of how things work. Moreover, it exposes a clear bias against the monied class, against capitalism, against taking risks and earning a reward.
An interesting aspect is that as best as I can find, Ms. Chung was paid $2,000,000 per year to, let’s face it, read from a teleprompter. Adjusted for inflation, it would equate to $4M today. If you know anyone at CBS, have them give me a call. I’d do that work for 5% or 10% of that number. Plus, I wouldn’t then lecture them about greed.
I’m sure she would bristle if we called her ‘greedy’ but if Ms. Redstone is greedy for wanting a profit, Ms. Chung can’t separate herself from that. I mean her personal profit is fine but not the owner’s?
So no, Ms. Chung, these people are not going to subsidize your work for free. And you should not object because you were handsomely paid. Just where did you think that money was coming from?
“We’d like to hire you but we’re not paying very much because we know you don’t really care about your personal bottom line.”
Sure.
Plus, it’s not up to her to decide how much money they should make. That one is up to everyone else. We all tune in; they make a lot of money. If not, they don’t. Seems fair to me, but it’s not up to me or her to dictate the number.
Meanwhile, as we are told constantly, the billionaires are the problem, right? That our operative personal political strategy should encompass wealth envy, confiscation of people’s assets, taxation at nosebleed levels. Fix ‘em really good.
Except then we get this:
Michael and Susan Dell commit $6.25 billion for investment accounts for kids
“Michael and Susan Dell will donate $6.25 billion to fund investment accounts for 25 million U.S. children, under a plan unveiled Tuesday. The money from their charitable funds would help to seed “Trump Accounts” ushered into law in July. Dell told NPR they’re trying to reach kids who need the money the most, which is why the gift targets recipients who live in ZIP codes where the median income is less than $150,000. The Dells say the gift will reach nearly 80% of children in the eligible age group, across 75% of ZIP codes in the U.S.”
Yes, the Dells are clearly part of the problem.
Billionaires are racing to build data centers in space
“The next frontier of data center development is out of this world.
Billionaires Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos, who each have their own rival rocket companies, are now racing to build AI facilities in space, while a Nvidia-backed startup announced it trained an AI model from space for the first time.
Such systems at scale could theoretically alleviate the energy constraints that set back their earthbound peers, though skeptics believe Musk and Bezos’ ambitions overlook the technical challenge.” Yahoo Tech
Yes, Bezos and Musk are also part of the problem.
It is entirely possible that should this idea see reality; the United States will lead the world in space-based data centers. And we will do so by benefitting from these capitalists willing to risk their money to pursue their ambitions. And other than the tax benefit we’d give them to keep spending, it’s on their nickel. Just as we now have the world’s most robust space industry, courtesy of private capital put at risk.
Would we prefer China to have the lead? No? Well, can we send our beloved readers here a special tax bill for $2,000 to risk development of space-based data centers? No? Well, where could we find the money? (Insert puzzled emoji)
The Internet, Artificial Intelligence, Quantum Computing, consumer goods and services, space-based data centers…the United States leads in all of it because our system encourages visionaries to pursue their dreams and profit from them. Which in turn encourages them to…try again and again and again. After all, they don’t apparently want to live in France or Norway. We could add to this list the automobile, rubber tires, and the electric light bulb and so forth.
And here’s another guy who isn’t paying his fair share:
“Billionaire investor Ray Dalio threw his support behind President Donald Trump’s plan to create investment accounts for children across the country on Wednesday. Dalio announced a donation of roughly $75 million aimed at contributing $250 to investment accounts for 300,000 children in Connecticut. Trump has called on wealthy Americans to contribute to similar funds across the country.” Fox Business
With any luck, we can whack Mr. Dalio as well! And if he decides to move to Singapore or whatever to escape the taxman’s hatchet, why we can blame him for that also!
And so, Ms. Chung, I’m going to take exception to your comments. A company that pays its on-air talent handsomely and is then castigated for worrying about making a profit is experiencing the sharp end of the ungrateful stick (I struggle to not be as harsh as part of my brain wants me to be here).
Let me leave with the following factoids:
Since 1790 and the founding of the US Patent Office, the USPO has issued over 12,000,000 patents. Let that sink it. And today, it issues roughly 350,000 new patents each year. By contrast Norway, which rarely misses an opportunity to lecture the world about economics and the environment (nice when you sit on a gazillion gallons of oil), has granted a total of 57,000 patents from Norwegian applicants. Thinking here when the oil runs out, they’ll have a lot of elk and we’ll have 12,000,000 patents, probably 20,000,000 by the time the oil runs out.
Freedom is much more than free speech or free association. It is also economic freedom. And if you want to blather on about punitive taxes on billionaires so they pay their “fair share” (defined by some politician seeking votes), just remember these things begin when they go after your neighbor, and then, emboldened, they come after you.
Thoughts, questions, or reflections? I’d love to hear them. You can reach me anytime at anthony@workingprofit.com
