To the editor: Were any of you as appalled as I was to read the article about Bristol Palin receiving $262,000 for her work advocating against teen pregnancy? What organization would pay this enormous sum to a 19-year-old who had gotten pregnant?
My disbelief prompted me to do some research. With minimal digging I found information on The Candie's Foundation and Bristol's employment with them as their Ambassador. I became even more disgusted to find out that the actual sum for her work in 2009 and 2010 came to a whopping $332,500 for approximately 18 days of employment. The work that she did featured a sweatsuit-wearing Palin in commercials making statements such as, "I don't think anyone realizes how difficult it really is until you actually have a screaming baby in your arms and you're up all night.
This would be an extremely effective and credible statement coming from a financially struggling mother. Unfortunately, this loses all credibility since the statement is coming from an advantaged girl, born into privileges that most of us will never see.
True, Bristol Palin is a high-profile figure ever since her mother's 2008 Republican vice presidential nomination. Perhaps the leaders at the Candie's Foundation thought they could capitalize on the Palin fame. However, I believe it more likely that this was simply another political payoff to the privileged.