Is It Right For Celebrities To Make A Lot Of Money?

Over-Paid, Yet Under Rated

Growing up in America, many people are unaware of what is really occurring around them. People are so into their televisions, and their jobs that they fail to recognize the amount of work that is put into making this country as wonderful as it is. However, many people complain about the wages they receive hourly at work, or the salary they earn every month. Some complain that it is too low, and others complain about the taxes that are deducted, and how they do not have money to spend for occasions like Christmas, or even vacations. Then those same people sit at home, watch television, whether it is a basketball game, a game show, or even a soap opera, and complain about why those actors, athletes, and entertainers earn so much money, when they do not do as much as doctors, and teachers do. They complain about soccer players that are paid more monthly than doctors do yearly. They complain about singers that are paid for lip singing on stage, fooling many people. Even with their complaints, they sit down and watch the football game, watch the concert, and support actors, entertainers, and athletes. Why should those actors, entertainers, and athletes be paid that much money when they do not shape our future like teachers do, or save lives like doctors do? Unfortunately, for those people who complain, it is because of people like that, which cause people like Britney Spears, and Shaquille O'Neal to have more money than some people can count. It certainly is not fair that famous people such as Shaquille O'Neal, and Britney Spears earn so much money, but people cannot complain about it not being fair because unfortunately America is a very entertainment filled country, and almost everyone in the country has a favorite singer, band, athlete, team, or sport that they support, by either purchasing clothing, albums, tickets to the games or concerts, which makes the famous person earn that high amount of money.

The music industry is a very large industry in America, and it seems to be growing larger and larger year by year. A person may not have to go through four years of college to be able to sing a song, but either way they must work to earn what they do. An example of that would be the famous rapper Eminem. While growing up, Eminem had to work to support his mother because his father had left them. Music was his way of expressing his feelings, and he felt that if he tried hard enough he would be able to become famous one day, and because he believed in that, he worked hard to be something big. Eventually he earned enough respect to make it with all the other famous rappers. It took many years of reading, to achieve his level of vocabulary, but he stuck through it, and eventually made it big. Many young people look up to Eminem because of the hardships he went through to make it big. He may not be teaching children how to add and subtract, or how to read and write, but instead he is teaching them a lesson they can use in life. The lesson he is teaching them is that no matter how hard ones life can be they must find something they enjoy and pursue it until they can make something of their lives. "Eminem landed at Number Five with estimated net earnings of $28.9 million. The rapper's earnings came from touring, his highly successful The Eminem Show album, his Shady Records label--which released the quadruple-platinum 8 Mile soundtrack--and the $3 million he earned for starring in 8 Mile" (Salomon). Many people went out and purchased his album, tickets to see the movie, or even tickets to one of his shows while he was on tour. Eminem did not save lives or teach children how to do math, to earn the money. Instead, those people who complain about people in Eminem's status having too much money chose to spend it on watching the movie, or purchasing the album. Eminem certainly cannot be blamed because of all the fans he has. Eminem did not wake up one day and simply make the whole album. It took many long and tiring hours, days, and even months in the studio to complete the album. Same with the movie, they did not put the movie together in a day or two. It took months of sleepless nights, and gruesome days at work to complete the movie, but he worked hard to do what he wanted. In return, he earned three million dollars for doing the movie. The firefighters that fought fires during the California wild fires did more dangerous, and harder work than Eminem, but Eminem still earned more money from that movie than those fire fighters will in ten years. Opening weekend of the film collected about 54.5 million dollars (Lawson). Eminem received three million out of all the money the movie made. A person cannot blame Eminem for making nearly 35 million in one year. They should blame the people who support him and many other singers and entertainers.

Another "unfair" issue is the amount of money athletes make. One athlete in particular is David Beckham. He is one of the most famous soccer players in the world today. He must train every day to stay in shape to be able to continue his excellent skills. That is what his salary is based on; how well he plays, and whether or not he is in the same great shape. "His annual salary is $6.7 million and he reportedly makes more than $20 million per year in endorsement income" (Rovell). The point here is not the 6.7 million dollars, it is the 20 million dollars he makes from endorsements. This just means that the company he is with is very proud of him, and feels he makes a good idol for young people, and soccer. He should not be blamed for that, he is merely a regular person who not only is talented with soccer, but also has a wonderful attitude that people would pay for to have on their team. The same goes with athletes such as Shaquille O'Neal, and Michael Jordan. They are idols that all young children look up to. These people work day in and day out, even in the "off season." The off-season is barely a few months off from a full season of games that go on almost every other day. Some times there is no off-season. For example, if an NBA championship team wins, they only have a few weeks to get rest, and head back to training camp. Out of a whole year of games, the athlete gets about two weeks of rest. An athlete will work about 35 to 40 years, but his career will only last seven to 12 of those years (Reinhold). These people abuse their bodies, and that is why most retire before they reach the age of forty. Their bodies have been worked too much to continue, and they need to rest their bodies. They work hard to get where they are at their careers. Just like the way doctors study, athletes spend many years training to be the best they can be in order to compete against the rest of the players in the league. The draft is a lot like the MCAT that doctors take to become a doctor. The smarter doctor is like the

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