since we rant about how little some people make, why not rant about how much others do

i was thinking about this last night.
there have been debates about raising minimum wage and how people deserve a living wage.
in these debates it is often said how it is ridiculous how much the ceo's of some companies make. it is ridiculous how much share holders make.
i dont disagree with that.
some are saying some jobs might need to take a hit in pay so people that work in these entry level fast food jobs can be paid $15.

just the evolution of he discussion...but i got to thinking about athletes, tv stars, and movie stars.

if people are cool with ceo's and share holders taking a hit, why not get after these people?
they make ridiculous amounts of money...

we hear how the upper class is so far above the middle and low class and they are. it is not just the ceo of wal mart and the tuner network.

how is it right or even justified that these ball players sign huge, multi million dollar deals?

i know it is more than just playing a game. i mean of course they play the game but they travel a lot. live out of suit cases. they have to keep their body in shape. constant practice...i get it...its work.
but they make multi millions.
movie stars that are making 25 million a picture
tv stars getting a mll per episode...

i say there is something wrong with that picture.
if anything should change, its that.

www.businessinsider.com/lebron-max-contract-tv-2014-10

LeBron James took a risk when he signed his short-term contract with the Cleveland Cavaliers in July. He could have signed a four-year deal worth $94.5 million guaranteed. Instead, he signed a two-year, $42.1 million contract designed to make him a free agent when the league's new TV deal begins in 2016.

this is what people should be taking issue with....21.5 million a year for a basketball player.

that is what is ridiculous

a reply to: Grovit

Can we stop paying millions of dollars to people who throw balls, wear makeup, dress half naked, spread stupidity, recite lines for a living?? It's so pathetic. I read about these sports stars and sometimes I wish they'd bust a knee and have to get a real job.

originally posted by: Yeahkeepwatchingme
a reply to: Grovit

Can we stop paying millions of dollars to people who throw balls, wear makeup, dress half naked, spread stupidity, recite lines for a living?? It's so pathetic. I read about these sports stars and sometimes I wish they'd bust a knee and have to get a real job.

Can we? Nope. As long as people are being entertained by them - they will continue to be paid for it.

a reply to: Grovit

If Hollywood got a bailout or ridiculous subsidies, you would have a point. The entertainment industries are far more independent and not nearly as connected to American income.

originally posted by: Cuervo
a reply to: Grovit

If Hollywood got a bailout or ridiculous subsidies, you would have a point. The entertainment industries are far more independent and not nearly as connected to American income.

how does my point not stand.
movie stars make millions per picture.

the entertainment industry also gets tax breaks for shooting in certain areas. i dont know the particulars of all that but it happens.

all im saying is people like to talk about hoe ceo's and such make such crazy money...
i want to know what people think about this.

21 million a year for lebron to play ball....

to me that is what is disgusting...

a reply to: Grovit

Ha!

Don't even get me started on this. Imagine, if you will, that out of nothing more than the kindness of their hearts, all celebrities and ball players (you too hockey) gave a million dollars to a fund that helped down and out civilians when they needed it. Obviously such an endeavour would require a lot of security measures to make certain it stayed legit. It could change the world if it could work, though.

Attack of the dreaded double post... in 3D!

Entertainment is not really the same game though is it? music stars and the like are very much subject to what people are prepared to pay to see them, or if they buy their records. Most music stars today are pretty astute in their dealings with the record companies too. Gone are the days when Solomons/ Decca's greed left big stars with just a retainer for years.

a reply to: Grovit

Besides throwing balls, running fast, exactly what else do they have? Half the time you listen to them they sound illiterate, they most likely were rammed through school with scholarships. This is why I laugh when I hear celebrities come out for "causes". Because as long as it's scripted, the makeup is just right, the lighting, the exposure, publicity, people will listen to them like godly doctrine. "Oh so smart, so intelligent...." No, it's called they're told what to say, how to present it and the public eats it up with a plastic spoon.

They're not intelligent people. Most of their lives are scripted, nearly everything's done for them. Stick Leo Dicaprio in a real job he'd have a breakdown. Treat Km Kardashian like a regular woman all the plastic would melt from her rage.

Time to stop paying worthless people money for doing nothing.

a reply to: Grovit
Look, I can't stand watching sports so I am normally the last guy to defend them but...

I don't recall Lebron outsourcing countless jobs, dumping toxic waste into our streams, buying off politicians, or displacing communities.

At least he's not getting paid to mess up our lives. He entertains and his career doesn't impact society in any significant negative way.

a reply to: Cuervo

Technically it does. Bread and circuses. Everytime someone watches a sports game they're being distracted from real issues. So he does harm society, by making us apathetic towards real issues.

I know people riot over sports more than they do over politics.

"Didn't get the ball! You @#$%$*$&(%^$^&%^#$&^%**&%^$%^$!!!!!"

"Oh they passed another law restricting our rights? Who cares? Dude you have to learn to live....."

Dear god help this planet.

originally posted by: Cuervo
a reply to: Grovit
Look, I can't stand watching sports so I am normally the last guy to defend them but...

I don't recall Lebron outsourcing countless jobs, dumping toxic waste into our streams, buying off politicians, or displacing communities.

At least he's not getting paid to mess up our lives. He entertains and his career doesn't impact society in any significant negative way.

i get that..
still though, debates have been going on about how everyone deserves to make a living wage....people are saying ceo's should take pay cuts. people are saying certain jobs should take a cut to make funds available for the minimum wage hike.
i just dont see how these athletes and movie stars are exempt.

also, i dont see what toxic dumping has to do with the ridiculous amount athletes get paid...

people are always on about the poor and the lower class and all the hungry kids.
well, there is a lot of cash going to these athletes and stars.

all the time we hear how fantastic oprah is cause she gave a million dollars.
time to suck oprahs ass in magazines and on tv and give her huge pats on the back cause she gave a million.
big deal. she is worth a billion....that is the same as the average joe that donates 500 bucks to a cause.

but when a celeb donates, boy we hear about it...supposed to oooh and aaah at their philanthropy.

they make ridiculous amounts of money and that was the point of my rant.
was curious if others agreed.

a reply to: Yeahkeepwatchingme

there are celebs out there that are very smart.
not all of them came from money.
natalie portman graduated from harvard
james franco(dumb face) graduated from harvard...
they are intelligent.

people like kardashian though...she is famous and rich for being a bubble head and her big ass.
and yeah, if the money dried up tomorrow she would be totally lost.

a reply to: Grovit

I still wouldn't trust Portman to work a microwave (has she even used one in the last 5 years?). And whoever James Franco is, Harvard doesn't automatically mean genius. If you don't get a scholarship (and I won't mention the bull that defines those qualifications) it's nepotism.

I wouldn't trust those Ivy Leaguers to trim an ivy plant. And there's plenty of them in my family, and to be honest, they're all dopes who made it through nepotism I have no problem admitting that lol.

a reply to: Yeahkeepwatchingme

thats fine.
i never said genius though. i said smart.

lots of them are bubble heads though.

i just wanted to rag on them a bit...people always ragging on ceo's and share holders...
might as well give it to the celebs.

im sure you know who dumb face is.

a reply to: Grovit

Lots are bubble heads. Nepotism and looks. That spells success. Oh or doing other things to secure fame but I won't get into their total lack of morality here.

I just looked up James Franco. Nope never seen him before. I have to commend him though, the makeup is extraordinary. Why he has more creams and foundations on his skin then a Parisian model.

"Look sad, good. Now look cute, good. Here's a million. Uh, hold on your mascara's running! You so manly James!!"

originally posted by: Yeahkeepwatchingme
a reply to: Grovit

Can we stop paying millions of dollars to people who throw balls, wear makeup, dress half naked, spread stupidity, recite lines for a living?? It's so pathetic. I read about these sports stars and sometimes I wish they'd bust a knee and have to get a real job.

Lets not forget that athletes have great insurance that they dont have to pay for, even though they can afford it.
I think the same is true for actors, I think the screen actors guild union makes this happen.

a reply to: coop039

dude, celebs get everything on the arm
when they show up at say the academy awards, they are given gift bags with free #.
like ipads, iphones, etc...the people that can afford it get it for free.

but yeah, the sag allows them to have insurance.

meals are comped for them. they get free cars and such.

when you that rich and you can afford it, you dont have to...its all on the arm.
something else to make you go wtf

originally posted by: CagliostroTheGreat
a reply to: Grovit

Ha!

Don't even get me started on this. Imagine, if you will, that out of nothing more than the kindness of their hearts, all celebrities and ball players (you too hockey) gave a million dollars to a fund that helped down and out civilians when they needed it. Obviously such an endeavour would require a lot of security measures to make certain it stayed legit. It could change the world if it could work, though.

Never happen. Most of them are far to selfish and self centered.
I used to work in retail car audio. Our shop had a great reputation for high end stuff, and as such we had alot of sports celebs as clients.
Ill never forget the year of the base ball strike, Ray Lankford (the St. Louis center fielder) stopped by the store, rolled up in his $125,00 Benz with $20,000 in audio and fabrication, wear the Mr. T deluxe kit. All he did was complain that he couldnt afford to take care of his family and hoped the strike would be over soon. He was in his mid 20's (it was in the 90's) and making 2.8 million a year.