What are you criticising?

The Vile Plutocrat has received some scattershot criticism for "selling t-shirts" in our efforts to "get rich like the people we criticize".  As laughable as this statement is, I still feel the need to clarify a handful of points.

Reality Number 1
Designing, developing, writing, illustrating, and maintaining a web site, let alone a news-style web site, is a massive commitment. Over the course of the past year, I have spent well over 500 hours of my own time making this site a reality. This is time for which I was not paid. Time I had to balance with paying work simply to fund the project. Yeah, boo hoo. For a small studio that lives and dies by the project, this was not a small boo hoo.

Reality Number 2
For me, this site represented a project that I simply felt needed to be done. Nothing more. The events of this past week have shown me that there is a market for this information, which begets more work and more effort. Maintaining a web site of this nature requires a constant presence. Ongoing efforts will require time and time is money.

Reality Number 3
Few people get rich from selling t-shirts.  Even if I were to sell the stock we currently have on hand, our profits would not come remotely close to covering the cost of the work done to develop and maintain this site throughout 2009. Would I like to break free from month-to-month living by selling my t-shirt designs? Absolutely. I have every intention of creating more designs and I don't give a crap about being called a "sell out". I rather enjoy eating.

Reality Number 4
I want this project to succeed and flourish. To that end, my ultimate goal is to turn this blog into a goto online resource. I want to employ researchers, writers, developers, and a dedicated site manager. I want to expand the features of the site and continually improve our content delivery. In order for the The Vile Plutocrat to survive, funding will have to come from somewhere and that's why we are selling schwag.

Yell at someone worthy of your ire,
The Editor

If you think The Vile Plutocrat is a worthwhile endeavor, please buy a Guillotee. They're really quite nice, and may get you laid.