$15 Million A Year For American Idol's Ryan Seacrest

I know it's an old story. But today something got me thinking about how absurd our, as in America's, economic system is.

I like Ryan Seacrest. I think he does a fine job on American Idol. But paying him $15 million a year to do what he does on American Idol?

American Idol is not Mr. Seacrest's only revenue generator. He is the producer of at least one TV show. Just this morning I heard a radio ad for the premiere tonight of a new show on E!, that being a reality show involving a couple Kardashian girls being bad in Miami. I don't believe one of the two Kardashians is the one who made news this week by accidentally getting pregnant.

At the end of the ad for the Kardashian show it said Ryan Seacrest was the producer.

Ryan Seacrest also has a radio show. Who knows how many revenue streams that boy has?

But $15 million to host American Idol? I think it was something like $50 million to get Simon Cowell to come back for another year. That seems bizarre too. But that show would really not be the same without the mouthy Brit.

Meanwhile the President of the United States gets, I think, a quarter of a million dollars a year.

A school teacher is doing well to make $50 thousand a year. Same with a policeman or a fireman.

The guy piloting a jet with 400 people on board might be making $200 thousand a year. Likely less.

The guy who operates on brain tumors does well. But not nearly Ryan Seacrest well.

In a world that made sense, and was not basically insane, would not the man who saved lives, by doing brain surgery, merit the ultra-big bucks? And the guy who has a fun job hosting a TV show, well, it seems like a half million a year would be huge compensation for such a thing. I mean, the job ain't brain surgery. Or rocket science. I don't know how much a top paid rocket scientist gets. I know for certain it is not $15 million a year.