I've been wanting to do a post about this for a long time and I hope I haven't already because I have been blogging for a long time and I drink a lot of beer. One of my biggest pet peeves is when People or some other magazine or "Entertainment Tonight" reports on some celebrity's million dollar wedding or party and some knucklehead writes in and says something like, "I think it's a disgrace that [insert name here] would spend all that money on a party when it could feed people all over the world." or something to that effect. HELLO?!? Do these yahoos think the money is shredded and thrown into the ocean? When someone has a million dollar party they are paying for food, food servers, flowers, decorations, music, etc. etc. The florist pays people to arrange their flowers and drive their vans, the food servers and cooks are being paid, the musicians, the decorators and everyone that works for them. The money goes all over the place down to the guys that wash the dishes and vacuum the carpet afterward. When a celebrity has a million dollar party they are sending money out into the economy instead of letting it sit in their Cayman Island or Swiss bank account. Why am I the only one that gets this?Saturday, April 05, 2008
A $Rant$
I've been wanting to do a post about this for a long time and I hope I haven't already because I have been blogging for a long time and I drink a lot of beer. One of my biggest pet peeves is when People or some other magazine or "Entertainment Tonight" reports on some celebrity's million dollar wedding or party and some knucklehead writes in and says something like, "I think it's a disgrace that [insert name here] would spend all that money on a party when it could feed people all over the world." or something to that effect. HELLO?!? Do these yahoos think the money is shredded and thrown into the ocean? When someone has a million dollar party they are paying for food, food servers, flowers, decorations, music, etc. etc. The florist pays people to arrange their flowers and drive their vans, the food servers and cooks are being paid, the musicians, the decorators and everyone that works for them. The money goes all over the place down to the guys that wash the dishes and vacuum the carpet afterward. When a celebrity has a million dollar party they are sending money out into the economy instead of letting it sit in their Cayman Island or Swiss bank account. Why am I the only one that gets this?
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14 comments:
Excellent post! So true.
Now granted the celebrity didn't throw the party to keep the economy going and ensure it gets its fair share of the loot but it doesn't matter, the fact is that these businesses are very dependent on them and the average person doesn't think about that. It's much easier to complaint about the frivolity of the money spent than to say "hey, the economy benefited", doesn't make for good coverage :)
BTW, I tagged you in the Make a Wish meme, hope you can do it.
Great post! Of course! Celebrities generate a huge economy just being celebrities. Even their day-to-day lifestyles create jobs and put money back into the economy.
And I guess you can appreciate how many folks benefit, now that you are hosting a party. You can see how many people will be working as a direct result!
Sylvie,
~~Well, yeah, I wasn't calling them altruistic or anything. I'll go check out the wish thing.
Josie
~~Hehe heh, yeah right. I don't think my party compares to something like that.
Good point Geewits... it's like the rants you hear about tourists, you go to a poor country and show off your wealth, but while you are showing off your wealth, you are spending a lot of money, which goes into their economy. Many people profit from it...
Good point.
I think a lot of it is, people are valuing the celebrity's party based on their budget. A million bucks seems like a lot of money to the regular joe. So it's poor man's sticker shock and their brain doesn't register beyond that.
Po' man Joe thinks about the wedding he had for $500 and wonders why the celebrity can't shop for a better value. Never realizing that if he were a dishwasher for the Beverly Hills Hotel, he could be getting in on the green for that night's party.
With that, party on! :)
Meant to also say that the celebrity's million is comparable to Poor Man Joe's $500 -- it's all what they earn in a day, so to speak.
Big Brother,
~~You really are Big Brother? I guess you are referring to the time my Dad and I went to Mexico and he kept tipping everyone $100. He wasn't showing off, we were just really really drunk. ;)
Jeanette,
~~That's probably what it is. PMJ is thinking, "I could retire right now and live the same for the rest of my years with that! Why would someone spend it on a party?"
Uhm, because they can.
I've been out of town since Thursday, so am just seeing your last two posts. I loved the picture of your cat! He looks like a lot of fun!!
I was trying to think of the last party I was at and, this will sound awful, but can't remember!! I was at a relative's wedding reception many years ago at a little country club, but that just seems like a blur. My daughter was only about 5 years old and I spent most of the night holding her until we left at about 9:30 - wild and crazy party goers!!
Years and years ago there used to be Christmas parties, but I have not worked with a company that has such things any more. In fact, where I work now they seem to be afraid to say the word "Christmas" and that makes me angry - oh well.
But you are right. The big parties give a lot of people a job! For some reason I now have the urge to read The Great Gatsby.....
Good point and let's face it, we all wish we could have that fancy party, too.
It's OK. I get it, too, and have always wondered where such critics come from. They certainly don't understand the basics of economics. Good rant.
I never whined about how they should be spending $ to feed people all over the world, but I never thought about it this way either. It DOES take a lot of bills to pay everyone for doing their job. Interesting post.
Russell,
~~If you want to "attend" a fun and wacky party, rent The Thin Man.
Ian,
~~Thanks. I'm no economics expert, it just seems like common sense to me.
Scarlet.
~~Thanks for dropping by, I'm glad you're still around! I left out all sorts of people like the valets, the liquor store employees, it goes on and on.
Well, the truth of it is the guys who work for the Party Rental Companys doing the real Grunt work don't make any more than minimum wage wether a Celebrity spends a million or not....
I personally think that there is great excess in these huge expensive weddings. Of course it trickles down, but in no bigger way than any "party" would...The real difference would be, taking Half of that money and giving it to Habitat for Humanity or Doctors Without Borders or Guide Dogs For The Blind, or whatever, where it really does make a difference.
I totally get it because I am one of the people who get paid sometimes to work at parties and other events that might be considered frivilous. A lot of people consider what I do frivilous anyway.
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