Is Sarah Palin laughing all the way to the bank?  Perhaps.

And if so, feminists of all political persuasions should high-five themselves.

I don’t say this lightly.  When it comes to public policy, I disagree with virtually everything Sarah Palin has to say (and that’s when I can actually understand what she is saying, clarity of speech and a grasp of the finer facts not being two of her stronger skills).   But hearing all the chatter condemning her for being a quitter and questioning her mental state got me thinking.  While it is entirely possible that she has taken a swan dive into the looney bin… it is also possible that she’s made a highly rational decision from a purely economic standpoint.

As is routine during campaign season, details of her personal finances were released.  With an annual income of $125,000 from her post as governor and a husband, five children and one grandchild to feed – she may well be looking to unleash her inner sugar mama given legal bills from ethics abuse charges that reportedly run over $500,000.  Power to her if that’s the case.  While her publisher has declined to confirm figures, it is rumored that her Harper Collins book deal is well into the seven figures.  The book is scheduled to come out around Mother’s Day 2010 which means she needs to pop that baby out asap.

If you had a choice between staying in a job that was making you miserable – or being the boss of your own time and writing a book for a seven figure contract… which would you choose?

I don’t know about you, but I’d jump at the latter.   Does that make a person “a quitter” or does that make a person empowered and brave enough to change course?   I, for one, and happy to see a woman (even one I would never vote for) be in an economic position to figuratively say, “Take This Job And Shove It!”  To me, that’s what financial empowerment is all about – the ability to live the life that makes you happy on your own terms… crazy as those terms may seem to others. For entirely too many years women have been forced to stay on life paths they didn’t want for financial reasons.  If it turns out that Sarah Palin resigned her governorship because she felt financially empowered to do what her heart told her to, I say we have indeed come a a long way baby.