We are because we have to be. In my case, it's no hardship. In the process I've made some wonderful personal friends. Some conductors who are introverted or not used to the American way might not find it so natural. In a certain sense, it gives you even more pride in the success your orchestra achieves, if you can give great performances and know that you've helped pay for them as well.
All American orchestras rely on 'endowments' to run.
With a huge endowment, an orchestra can actually do fascinating projects that might make the BBC envious, because even if you take a financial loss, the interest from your endowment can erase your deficit and still keep you running in the black. While we obviously have a long way to go before we can rest on our laurels, we are all proud to have come so far. For your forthcoming European tour you have chosen to commemorate the anniversaries of Copland and Shostakovich in your concerts. They are certainly both amongst the greatest composers of the 20th century. Both also completely captured and musically portrayed their respective countries better than anyone else.