The Beyonce Concert or: You Made HOW Much?

Stevie Nicks Called. She Wants Her Song Back

Like many folks, I honestly couldn't care less about professional sports if you paid me. Personally I think it's criminal that professional athletes, musicians and movie actors make millions, while teachers; cops; cancer researchers; nurses; EMTs and any number of people working in fields which actually add to the quality of our lives often live paycheck-to-paycheck. Not that I would deny anyone the right to make money but it seems our values are rather screwed up when it comes to professional salaries.  Think about this - Adam Sandler makes $20M for every awful, unfunny movie he makes. A high school English teacher who has been working for 20 years; dealing with uninterested, bored and even drug-addled students; is lucky to make $50K a year. 

I don't even want to know what Beyonce Knowles was paid for her 13-minute half-time appearance* at tonight's Superbowl. 13 Minutes. Surgeons can spend hours on end saving lives and are paid a very small fraction of what Ms. Knowles made for singing and dancing  in a leather and lace bathing suit for 13 minutes during the break in a game.

"But Uncle P, you're an actor/director/designer/writer. Shouldn't you be paid for your work?" 

Of course. As should everyone, no matter what they do for a living. And as much as Sports and the Arts contribute to the quality of life, it just seems insane to me that people who play games, sing songs and pretend to be people they're not should make so much more money than someone who teaches children to read; removes a life-threatening tumor; comforts the dying or protects us from those who would do us harm. There's a strange disconnect here, don't you think? Why does a guy who can kick a football earn more than a person who can literally save your life? Why does a woman who can sing and dance earn more than a woman who can make us understand the squiggles and symbols that make up the written word? 

Don't get me wrong - I'm all for Capitalism and the right to earn as much money as one can. I just think that our value system is a little more than askew. Beyonce is indeed a talented woman who deserves to be paid for what she does. But ask yourselves this: Does she deserve to be paid more for singing and dancing for 13 minutes than the surgeon who spends six or more hours removing a complicated tumor from someone's brain or the cop who puts his/her life on line to protect you from criminals? I think not.

*Some are reporting that Knowles actually lost money by performing at Superbowl 47. I can only imagine that such an appearance just added to her future revenues.

And I'm so glad that so many Superbowl winners are going to Disney. Like they need more money...

More, anon.
Prospero