Greed supercedes satisfaction

    When trying to explain to the average Joe why an athlete, movie star or singer is paid millions of dollars for enjoying themselves, the answer must be greed.

    The police officers, teachers and firefighters out there who protect us, teach our children and help our society should be the ones making big dough, not the entertainers.

    Let’s take a look at the actors on the sitcom Friends.

Sure, it’s the number one comedy, but do they really deserve all that money? The friends threatened to quit if they didn’t get $1 million each episode. They ended up settling for $20 million each, annually for two years.

    How disappointing for them, considering all the hard work they do during their four-day work week—two of which feature four-hour days.

To make matters worse, two of the friends, Lisa Kudrow and David     Schwimmer, had to be talked into it. Perhaps, the show might be better without them. Since Kudrow and Schwimmer make such grade A blockbuster movies, who would want to interfere with that?

    Some famous athletes are also testing the market.

    Tiger Woods, Venus and Serena Williams and Alex Rodriguez all want more money.

    The New York Mets pulled out of an auction a few months ago for Rodriguez because of the extras demanded by his agent, who responded by saying that these were hardly “demands.”

    Along with a 12-year, $300 million contract, Rodriguez asked for a luxury box at the stadium for the star’s entourage, private jet service, a tent at spring training to sell his souvenirs, a private marketing staff, an office at the park and a guarantee that he would get a greater billboard presence in Gotham then Derek Jeter of the Yankees.

    That’s not too much to ask for when your job is playing a sport you love.

    The agents for these guys say it’s not about the money; it’s about respect. Oh, please! Whether they are paid for their ability to produce a half-hour sitcom or compete well and win, these greedy people need to come down to reality and understand the meaning of hard work.

    If the agents mean respect as people, then such respect can be more easily gained by signing autographs or doing charitable work, if they can fit it into their precious time.

    Some may need the extra millions to pay child support or legal fees.

    Not every actor or sports star is like this, but let’s face the music, most are.

    We all realize that if we were as clever as Bill Gates or as pretty as Julia Roberts, the world would reward us. But we’re not, and so be it.

    Each of us has thrown a ball, sung a song, acted in a play or dreamed of wealth.

    When these people complain that they don’t get enough money, we want to scream back—hey, you get to do what you love for a living.