In the 1963 movie of the same name, a group of people search for a fortune in hidden money and it demonstrates how human greed makes it a hilarious if unnecessary race for something for nothing. Recent stories in the news seem to present a repeat of this classic movie as people are searching for their pile of gold and in some instances are exhibiting the greed side of their personality. I think the following stories will illustrate that:

-                 Just finished filing my federal and state returns and fortunately we will receive refunds in both cases. But in reading about the President’s nominees for various offices in his administration it seems we are the only ones who are paying taxes and filing correctly. Guess if you live in Washington, DC there are different rules for filing. And of course these same people have nannies and at times fail to pay taxes for their services! On Sesame Street if the letter of the day were “G”, the word would be “greed”!

-                      The peanut butter scare has taken over this nation! Now that we are not eating any peanut products it points out how people with peanut allergies have to skillfully navigate through each day for fear of a reaction. The company that is responsible for this epidemic should be put out of business!

-                      And talk about greed, how about the woman who just had eight babies to add to the six she already had. Now she wants millions of dollars for her story. Frankly this is the height of irresponsibility both on her part and that of her doctor who allowed her to impregnate herself with multiple embryos. In my mind this is some type of a sick joke. It’s almost as if the babies did not emerge from her womb but from a clown car!

-                     Good to see that Exxon is still making billions of dollars during the gas crisis. Although their profits were down somewhat the company continues to participate in the consumer shakedown. Sure, gas prices have come down but just as inexplicably prices have gone up .45 cents a gallon over the last couple of weeks. And of course when Memorial Day arrives look for more increases! What a crock!

-                     Bravo to Kellogg for severing ties with Michael Phelps the marihuana puffing half human - half dolphin. There should be no room in our society for athletes who break the law and use illegal drugs! His other sponsors who continue to laud him and provide him with endorsements obviously have lower standards than Kellogg! This episode certainly has tarnished the gold that was bestowed on him for the Olympics for coming in first. In my mind he is still first a first class jerk!

-                    Went into Starbucks the other day around 2:00PM for a cup of decaf coffee only to discover that only regular coffee is served after noon! One can still order decaf but it has to be brewed and takes about four minutes. Actually it’s not such a bad deal since the coffee is fresh. The reps in Starbucks stated that it saves thousands of dollars, as there is not a large demand for decaf especially in the afternoon. I would think that there would be less of a demand for decaf in the morning but maybe that’s why I am not a barrista.

-                   With the economy in the dumpster there are few companies that are surviving. Everyday news comes of another failure and thousands of people being escorted into the unemployment lines. One company that is doing very well though is Hershey Company where profits just jumped 51% amid signs that consumers may be cutting back but not giving up chocolate! Evidently we still want a bit of decadence in our lives and who can blame us!

-                   On the other side of the coin we learn that cheap hard liquor sales are up in the Detroit area. And with unemployment over 10% in the state and close to 20% in the city, people are drowning their sorrows in the devil’s elixir. Maybe we could convince these imbibers that chocolate is cheaper and the after effects are not as catastrophic!

-                   And in a story that should be entitled Aren’t They Just Glad To Be Alive, passengers on the U.S. Airways plane that crashed into the Hudson River want to sue the airline. The airline did give everyone $5,000 and a whole year of free upgrades but evidently these ingrates want more. Shouldn’t a safe landing by a talented flight crew and the ability to continue breathing be enough? Evidently not!

-                   But not to be outdone we have Manny Ramirez who turned down $25 million for a one-year contract with the Los Angeled Dodgers. He wants $100 million for four years. Actually all he needs is a new batting helmet! The one he uses looks as if it was dragged through a pigsty. And if you look up the word “greedy pig” in the dictionary his name and picture appears. I have placed him in my Michael Phelps “jerk” list!

As you can readily see I am mad, really mad and maybe it’s time for me to be in a starring role in the remake of the movie of the same name! And just maybe I can emulate the politicians in D.C. by not paying taxes on my newfound success!