While I’m not facile with numbers, I am nonetheless fascinated with them. Part of the reason is that I can see a flaw in the aphorism that numbers never lie. I don’t think they exactly lie, but there are times they don’t add up.
For example, the producers of “Toy Story 3” spent an estimated $200 million to make the summer blockbuster. That same money would have more than funded Sandy Springs’ operating budget — based on its fiscal-year 2010 number of $97 million — for over two years.
As of last week “TS3” had tallied over $630 million in ticket sales, and that doesn’t include the cash that will come in from licensing, pay-cable rights, television rights, DVD sales, etc. For that sort of scratch we could have miles of sidewalks and a phalanx of police officers with money left for a robust tip.
Earlier this year the NFL’s Oakland Raiders cut loose the former first overall pick of the 2007 draft, JaMarcus Russell. The quarterback’s first and only contract with the Raiders put a guaranteed $32 million in his pocket regardless of what he did with the football. Considering he only won seven games, the team blew around $4.5 million per win.
That same money would pay for more than 100,000 anti-nausea pills for people being treated for leukemia, lymphoma and other blood cancers. The $32 million would have picked up the tab for two days of cleaning up the BP oil spill.
I don’t begrudge a big payday. If NBC offered me $25 million a year to anchor the nightly news, I suspect I’d be headed to New York on the first thing smokin’. Would I be worth it? Only in the eyes of NBC. Is anyone worth $25 million a year? Not to read the news, no.
The gubernatorial solicitants in Michigan have spent $3.4 million on television. Close to home, the city spent the same amount on the Morgan Falls Overlook Park. I haven’t seen the park, but based on the compost I see when political hopefuls create TV ads, I’m sure we got the better end of the deal.
Speaking of the river, our police and fire departments spent $23,000 for a rescue boat. Last fall, pen maker Montblanc created a pen priced at $23,000 to commemorate the birth of Gandhi. I usually don’t speak for dead people, but he would have been happier with a boat than a pretentious ink dispenser.
There seems to be ever-increasing sums of cash for big-budget movies and dearly paid jocks. At the same time, those seeking cures or trying to create jobs must spend too much time scraping and scuffling. Look at the amount of money piling up on the “want” side of the ledger while so few dollars settle on the “need” side. I don’t see a lie, but something doesn’t add up.
Jim Osterman lives in Sandy Springs. Reach him at jimosterman@rocketmail.com
About the Author
Keep Reading
The Latest
Featured
