workin’ for a living
What do wedding photographers, airline pilots, skycaps and orthodontists have in common? They’re all on the list of the 10 most overpaid jobs in the US.
Sweet potatoes with marshmallows I had no idea orthodontists made so much (a median income of $350,000 a year).
Behold the power of unions.
Can’t believe they left off U.S. Senator and Congressmen!
The longshoremen is what get me. Problem is, they have so much of a monopoly, things will never change.
My father-in-law is a freelance photographer. I think we need to ask for more stuff for Christmas now!
I know they mention washed-up athletes, but I say ALL athletes and how can they leave out actors/actresses?
Chad: The author addressed athletes, saying he felt that “Pro athletes at the top of their game deserve what they earn for being the best in their business.”
As far as actors and acresses, I think there’s an elite few who make far too much, but the rest can barely make a living. Even many of the famous ones went through a rough time earlier on.
I read an article about Harrison Ford in Reader’s Digest where he explained that it took him 15 years working as a carpenter to subsidize his income as an actor. He said he just refused to quit trying.
It bugs me that the pro athletes, superstars, and coroprate CEOs are all paid on a ‘better than the others’ scale rather than on some sane and somewhat stable scale, but that’s the way it is. Maybe someday the sheer insanity of it will hit people and there will be some sort of ‘reset’ in their incomes to the level of humans rather than that of small countries. Until then, to get the best athlete you must pay more than you would for the others, which is fair in concept. It’s just that the actual values have been blown waaaaay out of proportion.
Levi, that used to really bug me too, but I’ve looked at it in a different view now. If people are willing to pay millions upon millions of dollars to see an athlete or movie star, then the free market says that’s what they’re worth. If a CEO brings massive revenues to a company, then he’s worth that. Of course recently, many have been getting paid far more than they bring to the company. However, when the govt tries to step in, like Clinton did with a baseball strike, to try to give the players more, that is completely unacceptable.
You and your free-market libertarian ideas!
Sure, in a strictly economic sense, it’s all good. But in the real world, where money represents a real standard of living instead of some numbers on a ledger, it’s not that simple. Not that I’m crying in the streets for reform; it’s ridiculous, but it’s only a minor annoyance to me. I’m leading a fairly comfortable life. It’s just that this trend leads to the ever-worsening disparity between the rich and poor. Have you seen a graph of the distribution of wealth in the USA? It’s disgusting.
I would think that many of the people who make that kind of money make it because they earn it in some form or another. If it’s by playing ball or by heading a company, then they wouldn’t be paid that amount if someone didn’t think they were worth the expense.
But I think I understand what you’re saying Levi. It does kinda hurt to think about a man making millions by throwing a ball through a basket when you can’t even make one measley million with your computer super-prowess. At least, I’m assuming you haven’t made a million with it; Not many computer-made millionaires around these days.