Thursday, July 24, 2008

Nice "Work" If You Can Get It

So, looking at the 2008 White House Office Staff Salary List, there are four "Ethics Advisors":

George, Allison Carr $130,694
Green, Marcella Moira $107,836
Sarkany, Sergio Francisco $86,279
Molinaro, Rachel E $58,206

None of whom seem to have any philosophical background. To be fair, "ethics" in this context generally means avoiding conflicts of interest rather than deliberating about difficult moral conundrums, but still... 130 G's to be an ethics advisor to the White House? There's a job I'd love to have. Reminds me of a comment I heard years ago made about a certain philosopher -- "Having him teach ethics is like having a blind man teach aesthetics."