Beth and I were having this discussion in the Beckam thread. I feel that no matter how talented a person is....nobody should be worth as much money as he, and many other athletes, musicians, actors, etc. are making...especially whenever there are people out there who cannot get ahead, no matter how hard they try...and others who are so poor that they don't even know where their next meal will be coming from.

I feel that there are a lot of talented people out there, yet most of them never get discovered. Not many people have that kind of "luck", yet they are just as talented as the "discovered" famous people.

I think that there should be a cap on how much these individuals can make. To me, it's just sick that they have the ability to make that much money. ::)

People should make whatever people are willing to pay RELATIVE TO THEIR ABILITY TO PERFORM THE JOB.  The suckier you are at it, the less you're paid.  The better you are, the more you're paid.  The thing about this kind of cash flow is that SMART celebrities manage the money wisely.  Give a lot to charity, put some in the stock market and other investments, use the rest to live on.  After you take care of the people on your payroll (agent, lawyer, accountant, assistants) and then maybe give some to family, there really isn't a ton of money left lying around.


Everyone else's situation in life shouldn't be allowed to dictate how celebrities are paid for their services.  That sounds vaguely socialistic. 

Beth and I were having this discussion in the Beckam thread. I feel that no matter how talented a person is....nobody should be worth as much money as he, and many other athletes, musicians, actors, etc. are making...especially whenever there are people out there who cannot get ahead, no matter how hard they try...and others who are so poor that they don't even know where their next meal will be coming from.

I feel that there are a lot of talented people out there, yet most of them never get discovered. Not many people have that kind of "luck", yet they are just as talented as the "discovered" famous people.

I think that there should be a cap on how much these individuals can make. To me, it's just sick that they have the ability to make that much money. ::)


It's not so sick that they have the ability to make that kind of money as it is that someone has the ability to PAY them that kind of money.  It's a supply and demand thing, they demand  Celebrity X and Celebrity X will become a millionaire.  And if Celebrity X works hard (practice, rehearsals, etc.) to maintain their stock, why shouldn't they get paid what the demand nets him? 

I think as long as there's someone retarded enough to blow a kajillion dollars on Celebrity X, he will continue to make that much.  Whether he deserves it is more of a subjective question, but the fact of the matter is that he did something to earn it...assuming he's paid through legal means :D

People should make whatever people are willing to pay RELATIVE TO THEIR ABILITY TO PERFORM THE JOB.  The suckier you are at it, the less you're paid.  The better you are, the more you're paid.  The thing about this kind of cash flow is that SMART celebrities manage the money wisely.  Give a lot to charity, put some in the stock market and other investments, use the rest to live on.  After you take care of the people on your payroll (agent, lawyer, accountant, assistants) and then maybe give some to family, there really isn't a ton of money left lying around.


Everyone else's situation in life shouldn't be allowed to dictate how celebrities are paid for their services.  That sounds vaguely socialistic. 



The thing that gets me about celebrities giving loads of their money to charities...is that they always have to make sure that everybody knows about it.  Nothing can ever be discreet when it comes to that. They want everybody to know that they are doing their good deed for the day. An example of this would be Oprah. Yes, I do enjoy her show from time to time....but it is unnerving to me, when everytime I turn her show on...she is talking about yet another charity that is so much better since SHE has donated millions of her dollars, etc... Ok....that's really great and everything...but why must they always brag about it...can't any of it ever be done in a humble way?

That's the way it works in our rugged individualist society. If I'm David Beckham or Alex Rodriguez or LeBron James.. I am gonna try and get every last dollar out of everyone, cus I know by the time I hit 40 my earning potential goes back through the floor.

The Beckham deal is huge, but you have to remember, it's a one off deal. He is the international face that links Football and Pop-Culture. He's not even that great a football player, but his name is just HUGE! Like I said in the thread about him, he is the biggest name in the most popular sport in the world (with an average 2 billion people watching some sort of football in any given week). First of all, on the $1,000,000 a week he'll earn, a huge amount of that will go back to the state of California in taxes, secondly, the huge hispanic population in California will have even more reason to get involved in local football (which is their sport religion) and third, the whole point of signing Beckham is to increase the popularity of the MLS and therefor increase it's earning potential, which boosts the economy, which allows the league to expand adding new teams in new markets. There are around 100 professional football teams in England. A country that would fit in to West Virginia.. imagine how many there could be in the US, which is about 80 times bigger and with 5-6 times the population.

People will earn, what others will pay.

Let me ask you this. If you were earning $500,000 a week and all of a sudden somebody came to you and said, "Oh sorry, you can only have $10,000." I think the next two words out of your mouth would begin with F and O consecutively.  ;)

The thing that gets me about celebrities giving loads of their money to charities...is that they always have to make sure that everybody knows about it.  Nothing can ever be discreet when it comes to that. They want everybody to know that they are doing their good deed for the day. An example of this would be Oprah. Yes, I do enjoy her show from time to time....but it is unnerving to me, when everytime I turn her show on...she is talking about yet another charity that is so much better since SHE has donated millions of her dollars, etc... Ok....that's really great and everything...but why must they always brag about it...can't any of it ever be done in a humble way?



You'd be surprised how much money they give to charity that no one knows about.  The reason they call attention to it is to call attention to the charity they're supporting.  Not all of it is "oh look at me and how much money I can throw at these people".  Oprah does what she does because she wants other people to care as much about these projects as she does.  Not all celebrities are self-serving ahseholes in it for all the good press they can generate. 

That's the way it works in our rugged individualist society. If I'm David Beckham or Alex Rodriguez or LeBron James.. I am gonna try and get every last dollar out of everyone, cus I know by the time I hit 40 my earning potential goes back through the floor.

The Beckham deal is huge, but you have to remember, it's a one off deal. He is the international face that links Football and Pop-Culture. He's not even that great a football player, but his name is just HUGE! Like I said in the thread about him, he is the biggest name in the most popular sport in the world (with an average 2 billion people watching some sort of football in any given week). First of all, on the $1,000,000 a week he'll earn, a huge amount of that will go back to the state of California in taxes, secondly, the huge hispanic population in California will have even more reason to get involved in local football (which is their sport religion) and third, the whole point of signing Beckham is to increase the popularity of the MLS and therefor increase it's earning potential, which boosts the economy, which allows the league to expand adding new teams in new markets. There are around 100 professional football teams in England. A country that would fit in to West Virginia.. imagine how many there could be in the US, which is about 80 times bigger and with 5-6 times the population.

People will earn, what others will pay.

Let me ask you this. If you were earning $500,000 a week and all of a sudden somebody came to you and said, "Oh sorry, you can only have $10,000." I think the next two words out of your mouth would begin with F and O consecutively.  ;)



I can't even imagine earning $10,000 a week...if I did...I wouldn't have the stomach ulcer that I do, from all of the worrying that I do.

Even when it IS "humble" the papers find out about it and it's broadcast all over the place.  Because celebrities are so "celebrated" they are by default put into a lose-lose situation whereby if they disclose a good deed, people cry about their vanity, and if they don't, then people wonder "why didn't you tell us?"

Plus they have to champion the particular charity that they gave to, which lets their fans know said charity exists, and then the fans' contributions can match the star's.  Doesn't work quite as well without some form of advertisement.



Exactly.  A lot of these charities generate the kind of money that they do, not from celebrity donations but through advertisements and donations from us regular folk.

You'd be surprised how much money they give to charity that no one knows about.  The reason they call attention to it is to call attention to the charity they're supporting.  Not all of it is "oh look at me and how much money I can throw at these people".  Oprah does what she does because she wants other people to care as much about these projects as she does.  Not all celebrities are self-serving ahseholes in it for all the good press they can generate. 


Yeah, as much as I like to rag on celebs, this is true.

Ok, a good example of this is a guy called Emile Heskey. Now, I have a soft spot for Emile because when I was a kid he came to my house on my birthday and bought me a pair of football boots, so he can do no wrong in my eyes.. but regardless. He played for Leicester City, a medium sized club in a medium sized town with a large sized debt. I won't go in to details but.. turns out Emile gave a considerable CONSIDERABLE sum of money to help the club avoid bancrupcy. Now.. at latest estimates he earns around $500-700,000 a year. Well, the sum he gave was over $2,000,000. That's more than 3 years wages. The reason he did that was because the club had signed him when he was 15 and trained and nurtured him up until he was in his mid 20's. He felt he owed them for that and fair enough.. but he never made a big deal out of it.

The people that I have come into contact with who come close to making that much did not have celebrity status or physical gifts...they just worked really really hard over a long period of time to make it happen.

The same is true, to an extent, of artists and athletes, because they must always strive to be the best in order to "deserve" their ludicrous salaries.  Do you really think Lebron James would make as much as he did if he wasn't a potential triple-double threat every night?  Not to mention that he makes some good commercials.

I want Sprite.


Perfect example. David Eckstein. He is consistently for the past decade one of the better short-stops in the majors.. but he's not THE! best, thus, he dosen't make that much money. In a real good year, my Dad turns over more than Eckstein.

Doctors save lives, yet they don't make as much money as actors and athletes.  It's not right

Doctors save lives, yet they don't make as much money as actors and athletes.  It's not right


Blech, the Doc might save my life once every few years, I get entertained by Albert Pujols 170 times a year.

Doctors save lives, yet they don't make as much money as actors and athletes.  It's not right



You can't really equate that.  Actors and athletes are supposed to make more money than doctors and teachers.....one group of people are celebrities and the others are not.  It's when CEOs who do nothing all day make more than doctors and teachers, that it becomes a problem.  Doctors don't get endorsement contracts, they don't sponsor products.  Doctors make the kind of money that their market (the medical field) commands relative to their skill set, location, and specialty. 

You can't really equate that.  Actors and athletes are supposed to make more money than doctors and teachers.....one group of people are celebrities and the others are not.  It's when CEOs who do nothing all day make more than doctors and teachers, that it becomes a problem.  Doctors don't get endorsement contracts, they don't sponsor products.  Doctors make the kind of money that their market (the medical field) commands relative to their skill set, location, and specialty. 


Doctors should do endorsements. 

"The top doctors in the world recommend the sugary drink that is Coca-Cola" ;D

Speaking of underpaid professions, my sister is going into Early Childhood Education (she starts student teaching this semester).  It is downright CRIMINAL how underpaid teachers are.  Hookers working the corner make more than some teachers.  Now THAT'S a travesty.

Maybe Teachers should do some hooking on the side ;D

"Timmy's dad was arrested after hiring a hooker, who turned out to be Timmy's teacher"

You can't really equate that.  Actors and athletes are supposed to make more money than doctors and teachers.....one group of people are celebrities and the others are not.  It's when CEOs who do nothing all day make more than doctors and teachers, that it becomes a problem.  Doctors don't get endorsement contracts, they don't sponsor products.  Doctors make the kind of money that their market (the medical field) commands relative to their skill set, location, and specialty. 


When I worked for the Riverfront times I was part of the team that put together the St. Louis rich list.

1st - Albert Pujols
2nd - The Professor of Neurosurgery at Washington University (A doctor).
3rd - Some.. brain surgery dude at Barnes Jewish Hospital.
4th - Another professor at Wash U.
5th - One of my professors at SLU.

That's in a city with the world championship team in baseball, a pro hockey team, a pro football team etc..etc..etc Oh and the headquarters of Anheuser Busch and SBC.


Speaking of underpaid professions, my sister is going into Early Childhood Education (she starts student teaching this semester).  It is downright CRIMINAL how underpaid teachers are.  Hookers working the corner make more than some teachers.  Now THAT'S a travesty.


Tell her to move to Connecticut, teachers up there usually start in the $50's.

When I worked for the Riverfront times I was part of the team that put together the St. Louis rich list.

1st - Albert Pujols
2nd - The Professor of Neurosurgery at Washington University (A doctor).
3rd - Some.. brain surgery dude at Barnes Jewish Hospital.
4th - Another professor at Wash U.
5th - One of my professors at SLU.

That's in a city with the world championship team in baseball, a pro hockey team, a pro football team etc..etc..etc Oh and the headquarters of Anheuser Busch and SBC.

Tell her to move to Connecticut, teachers up there usually start in the $50's.



Obviously some doctors are going to make a ton of money. If you're good at what you do and you're well-known in your field, people will want you and the more patients you see, the more money you get.  Also, what was the gap between Albert Pujols and the guy at #2?


And if anyone is moving to New England, it's me.  She doesn't want to leave the South.

Obviously some doctors are going to make a ton of money. If you're good at what you do and you're well-known in your field, people will want you and the more patients you see, the more money you get.  Also, what was the gap between Albert Pujols and the guy at #2?


And if anyone is moving to New England, it's me.  She doesn't want to leave the South.


Why dosen't she? I just take the south with me with three key points. 1) Beer don't go in a glass. 2) Marlboro Reds please. 3) "Ma'am" "Ya'll".  ;D

Errr.. Albert earnt around twice as much.  :-[ But it does show that only a few athletes actually earn stupid sums of money. With hundreds of athletes in St. Louis with the Cardinals, the Rams and the Blues the only one in the top 5 also happened to the best baseball player in the world.

Why dosen't she? I just take the south with me with three key points. 1) Beer don't go in a glass. 2) Marlboro Reds please. 3) "Ma'am" "Ya'll".  ;D

Errr.. Albert earnt around twice as much.  :-[ But it does show that only a few athletes actually earn stupid sums of money. With hundreds of athletes in St. Louis with the Cardinals, the Rams and the Blues the only one in the top 5 also happened to the best baseball player in the world.



She likes living down here, she has friends here and she doesn't want to move too far away from our parents....and they're not leaving either.

South = cheaper.  People generally seem nicer too.  No offense to you carpetbaggers :D


None taken.  :)

South = cheaper.  People generally seem nicer too.  No offense to you carpetbaggers :D


Agreed, but I want a few more years of civilisation before I take the plunge.


RE: the original question, I think a person should be able to make as much money as he can without breaking the law...how much he actually makes will depend on how hard he works and how lucky he gets ;)


Yup. Rug-ed In-Duh-Vi-Du-A-Liz-Um.

Don't believe in a set limit for hwo much someone can make, just keep taxing them more and more.

I agree with what a lot of people are saying here. Athletes and celebrities make WAY too much $$$ while doctors, teachers, firefighters (some are volunteers) do not get paid enough (IMO). Then you have the CEOs who make WAY too much while many of their workers make minimum wage (which hopefully will go up $7.25 from $5.15-which is still too little.) At least this Congress is trying to rectify the fact that it has given itself I don't know how many raises but hasn't touched the minimum wage in I don't know how many years. I just think it is a shame that people are working 40 hours a week (or more), sometimes at more than one job can't make enough to make ends meet. It just boils down to the fact that this country is totally screwed up.



Cat

I agree with what a lot of people are saying here. Athletes and celebrities make WAY too much $$$ while doctors, teachers, firefighters (some are volunteers) do not get paid enough (IMO). Then you have the CEOs who make WAY too much while many of their workers make minimum wage (which hopefully will go up $7.25 from $5.15-which is still too little.) At least this Congress is trying to rectify the fact that it has given itself I don't know how many raises but hasn't touched the minimum wage in I don't know how many years. I just think it is a shame that people are working 40 hours a week (or more), sometimes at more than one job can't make enough to make ends meet. It just boils down to the fact that this country is totally screwed up.



Cat



That isn't what I was saying exactly.  Yes those people don't make enough, but I wasn't comparing their salaries to what athletes and actors get.....because you can't do that.  One group of people are celebrities and the other is not.  Celebrities are always going to make a lot more money than non-celebrities. 

I do think it's unfair that those people aren't paid well considering all they do, but the fact that Julia Roberts gets $20 mil a picture is not an indication that the country is screwed up.  Not even remotely close.  You can't connect the two because there's nothing to connect. 

I agree with what a lot of people are saying here. Athletes and celebrities make WAY too much $$$ while doctors, teachers, firefighters (some are volunteers) do not get paid enough (IMO). Then you have the CEOs who make WAY too much while many of their workers make minimum wage (which hopefully will go up $7.25 from $5.15-which is still too little.) At least this Congress is trying to rectify the fact that it has given itself I don't know how many raises but hasn't touched the minimum wage in I don't know how many years. I just think it is a shame that people are working 40 hours a week (or more), sometimes at more than one job can't make enough to make ends meet. It just boils down to the fact that this country is totally screwed up.



Cat



applause!! :)

It just boils down to the fact that this country is totally screwed up.

Cat


Karma + 1.

That's the way it works in our rugged individualist society.

Uh, that's socialism for the rich, rugged individualism for everybody else. 

Celebrities are not forcing your hand.  If you don't buy their products, watch their media, or attend their events, they don't get your money.  However Britney Speares or David Beckam got to be zillionaires, bes sure I had nothing to do with it!

Teachers at all levels, except for certain full-professors on the tenure track, should make more money.  Doctors from GPs to brain surgeons make plenty of dough.  I have no problem with doctors making big bucks.  They hold people's lives in their hands.  Doctors can also get sued for malpractice.

I don't think corporate executives earn most of their income.  They steal a lot of it from labor.  Everywhere else if you fail to perform, you get canned.  Corporate executives can preside over failing companies and reward themselves with multimillion dollar bonuses.  It's sick.

I do think it's unfair that those people aren't paid well considering all they do, but the fact that Julia Roberts gets $20 mil a picture is not an indication that the country is screwed up.  Not even remotely close.  You can't connect the two because there's nothing to connect. 

It's OK to pay people badly?  In my experience, there no such thing as "unskilled" labor. 

I just KNEW you were going to take one of my posts and draw an incorrect inference from it.  I need to start wagering some money on that. 


Anywhoozles, where did I say it was okay to not pay people well?  Kindly point out EXACTLY where I said that. And I do mean EXACTLY. 


I said that there are a ton of people not paid well and that it's not fair.  I said those people SHOULD be paid better.  However I also don't think you can say that because celebrities get a ton of money for what they do and some people do not, the celebrities shouldn't get paid the money they do.  Do I think some celebrities are overpaid? Yes.  Do I think some deserve every penny?  Yes.  How does any of that equate to me thinking it is okay to not pay people well?