$600 million golfer worth way too much

Tiger Woods’ soon-to-be ex-wife, Elin Nordegren, will reportedly receive $100 million in their divorce settlement.

My initial reaction upon hearing this was not they she was getting too much, as I think she deserves every cent she can get from his dirty paws, but that Tiger Woods has way too much money.

Yes, he’s one of the greatest golfers of all time. Yes, he’s helped the sport of golf and the companies he’s an ad spokesman for earn a lot of money and he’s entitled to a cut of it. Yes, the popularity he’s achieved and the accomplishments he’s earned deserve to get rewarded.

Nordegren is only receiving about one-sixth of her soon-to-be ex-husband’s estate, as Forbes Magazine values his worth at $600, which in my opinion is approximately $400 million more than any professional golfer should be worth, according to the unofficial “What a person should be worth” chart I keep in my head.

This chart, which most other people probably also have, is quite nice in allowing Tiger to be worth $200 million, as that’s more money than you or I could barely earn in 200 or so lifetimes.

According to my chart, surgeons deserve to make the most money. They spend a lot of money to receive training that will help save a lot of lives, and should the situation ever occur where I or someone I know needs the life-saving skills of a surgeon, I hope that person is comfortable financially so not to be thinking of those matters while operating.

Next on my list are firefighters, police officers, emergency medical technicians, paramedics, doctors and teachers. These are the people who keep us safe, healthy and smart – all qualities I greatly enjoy.

Some might argue teachers are paid too much, especially as evidenced by the defeat of two referendums for the Stevens Point Area School District, but I will say they are paid too little. Think about the good teachers you may have had in school and all you learned from him or her. I had several outstanding elementary teachers, a great middle school teacher, a couple of super high school teachers and one incredible college professor who all helped make me the person I am today.

Imagine if all teachers were as good as those teachers. This country and the people in it would be much better. Higher teacher salaries would weed out the bad teachers, as the brightest and best people would seek those jobs.

The next occupations on my list are construction workers, engineers and people who make things. All of these jobs require skills many of us, me especially, don’t have and deserve to be rewarded for their efforts.

Good workers in the service industry are next on my chart. Bad workers fall to the bottom, though, as they often seem like the most worthless employees out there.

As much as I love television, films and sports, people in those businesses would be on the lower tier of my chart. Granted, the big stars, like Tiger Woods, help rake in a lot of money, that doesn’t necessarily mean they deserve as much as they earn, nor do the studios, sports teams or others who benefit from them deserve it all. After certain amounts, the money should go to deserving charities. I’m sure many charities would be much better if Tiger’s $400 billion overpayment went to them.

I don’t mean to get too socialistic, but it’s hard to argue against me. Too few have too much, and too many don’t have enough. Spread the wealth.

Where do journalists, my profession, fall on my chart? Well, anybody that’s seen our paychecks knows we’re certainly not making too much. If we were paid more, then maybe the quality of journalism today would improve, as I’m definitely not going to argue with you that we should be bragging about our profession right now.

Unfortunately, my chart will never come to fruition. This is a world in which a golfer is worth $1.5 billion and a teacher earns an average of $50,000 annually. At least it will get a little better, when the golfer’s net worth decreases by $100 million.