Written by: Joan Starich
Surgeons work hard
for their high salaries and so business owners, CEO’s, engineers, and some of
the other wealthiest jobs America has to offer. But even compared to the
highest and most elite occupations – celebrities earn up to 10 times more
money.
Celebrities
get paid more than doctors, students with masters’ degrees, and even some
government officials. Britney Spears makes $58 million in a year. Simon Cowell
makes about $90 million in a year. Tyler Perry makes $105 million in a year
(Weisman). Just to put these numbers into perspective: Obama made $1,728,096 in
2010 (Soleman). Maybe I’m the one who’s crazy, but in my opinion the President
of the United States should make more money than someone who sits in an American
Idol judge chair all day and makes fun of singers on television. But it isn’t
up to me - or even the president – how much celebrities make. It’s all in the
hands of the American population.
Famous celebrities
we all know and love actually contribute very little to society, so why do we
keep putting paychecks in their pockets? Economists took a look deeper into the
situation, and found that most of the money comes from dedicated fans and
viewers from television sets. If you think that Britney Spears makes enough
money – her record company makes even
more. Your $10 towards that Luke Bryan CD goes a much longer way. The store
it was purchased from makes a percentage profit, the workers at the store make
a percentage profit, the record company makes a profit, the manager of Luke
Bryan makes a profit, and lastly, Luke Bryan. So in reality, the money doesn’t
just go to the celebrity, but it is spread out among various sources. What
grants actors and celebrities so much money in a year is the amount of popularity
they have among fans, and their significant roles played in our American
culture.
Maybe if Obama
came out with a mix-tape, he’d make just as much as Beyonce. Celebrities’
paychecks all depend on their status not only with the American people, but with
fans all across the globe. Justin Bieber is touring the country this summer.
Here is a Bieber link for ticket prices for a concert in LA on June 24th.
Take a look at some of the best seats, and how much they cost.
So whose fault is it that celebrities
make so much money? It’s up to the die-hard crazy fans that are willing to
spend hundreds of dollars on them. Whether this is a giant waste or not, it’s
all part of the invisible hand theory in that people will spend their money on
their own interests, unintentionally contributing the entire economy. Even if
celebrities do make too much, they are the people more likely to make bigger
purchases that benefit our economy as a whole. So, next time you complain that
doctors or surgeons make too much money – take a look at the larger sources.
(Did I mention that Opera rated the #1 most money making celebrity with $165
million?!) After considering all these factors, my question to debate
Do celebrities
make too much money?
This is a shame. You make some very good points in your article. How can anyone justify celebrities and tv personalities making more than say, those defending our country. Now, the people who would try to justify this say that they are constantly working long days and are always away from their families, which can be true, and probably is in most cases, but making more than the people who dedicate their lives to the prosperity of this country is absurd. America needs to rethink its priorities a little when it comes to this issue. We are basically saying that we need a singer more than a leader of our country. How can this be? Will his music stop wars or raise employment? Although Obama could take a few singing lessons.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you that celebrities definitely should not make more than 10x than the President of the United States. The President is the one that is running our country, preventing wars, protecting us and our freedoms while celebrities just provide us with entertainment. I definitely think that US citizens should rethink about where they want to spend their money. Maybe I'm wrong but if we can put a price ceiling on certain things, couldn't we put a price ceiling on the price of a Justin Bieber ticket?
ReplyDeleteThis post is really interesting and I had no idea that celebrities made so much money in comparison to doctors and CEOs. It is a really good point though, that we determine a celebrity’s status and popularity, and therefore their salary, which ultimately could help the economy. With all of the money they have to make they can make bigger purchases to stimulate the economy, and potentially prevent it from a recession. My question, though, is if they can have such a big influence on the economy, why has the economy been in a recession for the past 5 years?
ReplyDeleteI personally don't think they make too much money, after all we are the ones who determine their salaries. Something is only worth what someone is willing to pay for it, and if all us citizens are willing to pay $11 every time we go to the movies, and a dollar for every song we download on itunes, then we are just stressing that fact, that "celebrities are worth that to us." Also with all these people with all of this money in their hands, they will be able to spend, and pick up the economy.
ReplyDeleteEveryone has the right to make as much money as they possibly can, and these people are simply taking advantage of the situation in front of them.
I really like the points you bring up Anthony. Even though I didn't see it your way when I went on my rant earlier, you make a lot of sense. Even though when people in the United States think about it the would probably much rather have a president than a Colin Kapernick, most don't pay attention to pay attention to how we treat or value these men. Even though I know celebrities could do with less, it is not like they are getting their money from an inheritance or the lottery. They are getting it from hard-working Americans, which only emphasizes the fact that we believe that they are worth that much. To all those that say celebrities are getting paid too much, myself being one of them, we can only blame ourselves. Everytime we buy a superstars jersey or rent their DVD, we are only contributing to their never-ending wealth.
DeleteEven though the celebrities make a ton of money it is true that they make a boat load of money. It is our fault that they have all of this money because we choose to purchase their albums and go to their concerts. While these celebrities make a ton more money than doctors, doctors still make a great deal of money. If we want the situation to change we as consumers need to stop spending our money on them. At the same time it is not a negative thing that they make this money. They are the ones that make the most impact on the economy because they are the spenders. They are buying extravagant cars and houses and that keeps the economy growing. I believe that as long as celebrities keep spending their money and helping the economy, how much they make is irrelevant.
ReplyDeleteIt is ridiculous the amount of money celebrities make compared to the President of the United States. However, like you said this is all based on the simple economic concept of supply and demand. There is a huge demand for idols for children and even adults to look up ay, but there are few who have the ability to fill this void. That is why Celebrities and professional athletes make so much money, even if it isn’t deserved sometimes.
ReplyDeleteI don't completely disagree with you. Celebrities work to make their own salaries. Ones who don't do nearly as much as other won't make the same amount. While it's surprising that most celebrities make more than our president, I don't think it's weird. Celebrities have an important place in our society, they're more influential than the president, which why I believe they make more than him. In our society if a celebrity endorses it, we all want it. Whether or not they work hard, we decide how much they make by how we let them influence us.
ReplyDelete-Shelby Cieszki
This article is in line with my views as well. We as the american people have the power to decide who makes how much money, we just need to speak with our wallets. I wish the government would put a cap on how much these un-beneficial celebrities had on our society. People like doctors, scientists, surgeons, engineers, and the like should be making the most in our country, not mediocre singers, or rappers that "started from the bottom now were here". It is truly outrageous.
ReplyDelete-Cal Stempel