Thanks!
Guess who complained about not having enough money and openly wondered about leaving the USSC back in 2000, 2001?
I think WaM posted that same article two hours ago.
Anyway, I wish I was better at posting memes here, because the Willy Wonka “No, stop, don’t go” one would be appropriate.
I thought we collectively decided that sort of meme was cheesy?
D’OH!!
I despise the man as much as anyone. But I’ve periodically wondered how challenging it would be if - say - one were the lowest paid guy on a pro sports team. Many of the other Supremes had successful careers in private firms before becoming judges. And others married well. Of course, if $ was all that important to Clarence, he coulda left the Supremes for some higher paying gig.
So he makes $285k today. Any folk in the area want to suggest what standard of living that supports where around DC? While the Supremes get incredible prestige, I don’t think they get such perks as drivers or anything. On one hand, I don’t think it is such a demanding job. So they shouldn’t complain. But I think it a tad misleading to suggest that $300k for a top-level professional in DC is overly generous.
And lay off the avocado toast.
I feel like there’s an analogy, here.
Hillary whined and groused after her loss in 2016. And then she moved on. Trump did … uh … more than that.
I support the Supremes’ right to whinge about their innumerable privations. It’s what they do in response that garners my attention.
From the ProPublica article:
George Priest, a Yale Law School professor who has vacationed with Thomas and Crow, told ProPublica he believes Crow’s generosity was not intended to influence Thomas’ views but rather to make his life more comfortable. “He views Thomas as a Supreme Court justice as having a limited salary,” Priest said. “So he provides benefits for him.”
So Crow is just a friend… with benefits.
Why do I feel like the rest of us are getting screwed here?
Plus, hey, he’s not intending to influence him - that’s just a side effect!
The difference is that when you leave the team you’re generally done. Most endorsements dry up very quickly.
Thomas could retire and make piles of money from speaking engagements and prestige seats with as many conservative think-tanks and foundations as he wants.
He’s not mad because he can’t get rich. He’s mad because he can’t get rich and be a justice at the same time.
Don’t forget whatever Ginni makes (his wife).
Maybe they are not “rich” by Washington standards but they make enough to live very comfortably…even in DC.
Well put. Don’t get me wrong. I despise the guy. No one forced him to be a justice. Hell, I’m pretty confident he was promoted WELL above his capability, so he should be damned happy with whatever he gets. And I don’t know that paying top-level gov employees would attract better candidates. Or how much would be appropriate. But when I look at salaries these days, it is hard for me to say judges, congresscritters, or the pres are OVER compensated.
Not to carry the analogy too far, but being a Supreme Court Justice makes you one of the 9 top judges in the nation. If you took the 9 top athletes at whatever major professional sport you want to use as an example, odds are that those are going to be people who will also be able to have endorsements, TV deals, whatever for years to come.
But to support your point, those 9 top athletes are unlikely to feel like they’re underpaid compared to their peers. Quite the opposite. Okay, maybe the 9th best pitcher or quarterback might gripe to his agent about not making the money that the top 5 are, but still, you are sitting just under the peak of the mountain above so many people below you and complaining about the few people above you. That’s a real lack of perspective.
To be fair…Thomas is paid the same as the other justices.
They just came into the job more wealthy than he was.
I wonder if Thomas had never gotten to the Supreme Court if he’d be making more at some law firm? I don’t think so. I do not think he had/has the ability to have made it in a high-powered firm. He is unimpressive at every turn. Supreme court is probably a lucky windfall for him.
His law clerks almost certainly make him look better than he is.
In addition to perhaps not having the ability to thrive in a high-powered law firm, Thomas also has no experience in that arena. According to the wikipedia article about him, he’s been in the public sector almost his entire career (he did a relatively brief stint in the law department of Monsanto).
His book was reported to have earned him a $1.5 million advance. He has not reported earning any royalties on it since 2008. (The book is still being sold on Amazon.)
I would think a big firm with an appellate practice would let him an an office and give him a nice salary, just so they could “consult” with him about his former colleagues and put his name on briefs.
I listened to a story about this topic yesterday. It is astounding (not really) to me that it took 20 years to know that Clarence Thomas was on the take. His statements to anyone listening back in 2000 were basically, “I’m for sale” and boy howdy did the conservative billionaires come running with gifts and moola. When Thomas threatened to leave for lack of money, they made sure he was not going down that road.
It’s gross and he should be ashamed, but I don’t think he is capable of that emotion. He just seems to feel deserving of all that they gifted him.
Do you recall what it was? I’d love to hear it.
I think it was an in depth story on NPR. I found an interview from May of 2023 that touches on a lot of the issues I heard about, but I don’t think this was what I heard yesterday. It might give you a good sense though.
Yesterday around 230pm in Chicago NPR had an interview with a ProPublica writer, in case that helps you track it down.
The NY Times reported on some of this in 2011. Requires subscription. And the LA Times had some it 20 years ago as mentioned above. The Thomas’ corruption was an open secret.