Entertainment Tonight: The Cost of Entertaining America

The amount of money Americans spend to be entertained is staggering, to say the least. Tonight my wife and I watched a recorded episode of one of our favorite television shows; “Are you smarter than a 5th Grader”. In this episode, a gentleman won $500,000 for correctly answering 10 elementary school questions. It warms my heart to see a “certified genius” win half a million dollars answering questions asked of kids in first through fifth grade. The problem I have is that $500,000 represents more money than my father and mother made together in all the years they worked.

Jeff Foxworthy, who is the host of the Fifth Graders show, receives a “salary” of $150,000 for each one hour episode. William Peterson makes $500,000 for each “CSI” episode. Are these guys really so talented that they should make this much money just to entertain us? Is it right that Jeff Foxworthy makes more in two episodes of a game show than the President of the United States makes in a year?

Judge Judy makes 30 million dollars a year to pass judgment on cases no different than those heard daily in small claims court. Simon Cowell makes 45 million dollars a year to be a judge and critic on “American Idol”. Poor Katie Couric makes “only” 15 million dollars a year to give the news a few nights per week. Oprah Winfrey makes around 260 million dollars per year from her broadcasting and publishing empires.

The average salary for an NFL player is 1.4 million dollars per year. That is quite a bit of money to pay a 300 pound guy to dress up in a uniform and play once a week. The average salary for an NHL (hockey) player is 1.8 million dollars per year. That is a huge amount of money to pay a guy to “skate”. The average salary for a Major League Baseball player is 2.7 million dollars. At least these guys have to “work” every day for 8 months to earn their money. The average salary for an NBA (basketball) player is 4.9 million dollars. That is an incredible amount of money to pay a guy to “dribble”.

A few weeks ago Tiger Woods received 10 million dollars for winning a golf tournament. That’s right, 10 million dollars to hit a little white ball into a hole. Since when did hitting, catching and throwing balls become so lucrative? It became lucrative when Americans with far too much money and time on their hands started wasting it on worthless entertainment. Athletes make this money because Americans are willing to pay a king’s ransom to watch their “heroes” play for a few hours.

Let us assume Brad Pitt makes 20 million dollars per year (he probably makes far more than that). For the average American, a $275,000 house would be a huge investment that would entail obtaining a 30 year mortgage at over $2,000 per month. For Brad, that same house would seem to cost only $412.50. The new car that costs all of us $20,000 would seem to cost $30 to Brad. That new $2,000 computer would seem like $3 to Brad. A nice meal at a decent restaurant that costs us $40 would seem like 6 cents to Brad and the average $10 meal like 2 cents.

Entertainers are allowed to make what they make because Americans are more than willing to pay their “salaries”. America’s love affair with celebrity status along with its unquenchable thirst for sports of all kinds has led to a leak of monumental proportions when it comes to the reality and honesty of compensation. Those who contribute the least are paid the most, and those who should be paid the most are paid the least.

The base salary for a new nurse is $39,000 per year on average. After 3 years it “climbs” to $47,000. How important are nurses compared to basketball players? Should a basketball player really make 100 times what a nurse makes per year? How many lives have basketball players saved or helped make comfortable?

The average pay for a police officer is $45,000 per year. Should a an actor who portrays a police officer on television make 10 times more for a one hour show than a real police officer makes in a year of daily putting his life on line? Should a television judge make 700 times more per year than the average police officer on the street? Something is terribly wrong with this picture.

The average pay for a school teacher is $47,600 per year. Granted, a teacher works only 9 months per year, but their job is perhaps the toughest one on earth. Is it right that the teacher who slaves away in a rundown inner city “hellhole” school should make only 1/ 5460th of what Oprah pulls in per year?

Is Oprah 5460 times more important than your average teacher? Is Judge Judy 700 times more important than your average police officer? Is an NBA player 100 times more important than your average nurse? Isn’t it interesting that the vast majority of teachers, police officers and nurses rarely complain about their salaries? They do what they do for the love of what they are doing and knowing they are “making a difference” in our world. Athletes and entertainers are notorious for complaining about not making enough for what they do.

The next time you turn on your television, go to the movies or attend a professional sporting event; think about how much money is being thrown away to provide you with a few minutes or hours of entertainment. While numerous small charities dry up on the vine for lack of funding, people seem to have no shortage of extra money to throw in the trash can of “Entertainment Tonight”.

God Bless you and keep you safe.