Do Americans spend too much money on entertainment? Does society allocate its resources in a prudent and responsible manner? The entertainment business is a booming industry with endless resources and opportunities. Amusement parks, stadiums, theatres, and casinos are all thriving businesses that are growing at an increasing pace. It seems as if Americans are starved for entertainment, and are willing to devote more resources for it. People are no longer satisfied just to go out to eat, but are willing to pay exorbitant prices to be entertained while they dine. Restaurants entice customers with half-naked waitresses, big screen televisions, and various video games. Entertainment is like a drug Americans crave more than ever; consequently, the industry is spinning out of control.

Society has become based around entertainment, thus consuming an increasing amount of resources. States, counties, cities, and ultimately the taxpayer are willing to spend large amounts of money and devise sophisticated plans on entertainment facilities. Millions of dollars are allocated to build elaborate stadiums for sports teams. Instead of renovating the old stadiums, they demolish them and build bigger and grander ones. The city of Detroit is spending over $500 million on two new stadiums for their professional sports teams. Closer to home, Lucas County is considering spending $37 million on a stadium for the Toledo Mud Hens. The city of Rossford is spending $35 million and, in the process, endangering its credit rating in order to build a sports and entertainment complex. Society is willing to spend almost any amount of money to see their favorite sports team play. People have been known to pay thousands of dollars for Superbowl or World Series tickets. Everyday people spend eight dollars just for a single movie ticket; furthermore, every year ticket prices go up and fans continue to pay the price. Meanwhile, people live in poverty, crime rates are high, infrastructures deteriorate, and basic services are curtailed. Is society concerned about these issues, or is it happy as long as there is a big new stadium in town? Ask the city to fix a couple of pot holes or do a better job at snow removal, and the reply will most likely center around a lack of money and resources. The city of Toledo, which claims it does not have the money to assign police officers to public high schools, at the same time, feels a new baseball stadium needs to be built. The man who cannot provide for his family or send his kids to college has enough money to sit at the sports bar and watch a game or perhaps, buy expensive tickets and attend it live. The city of Baltimore has spent millions of dollars in the Harborside area on sports and entertainment complexes; however, ten blocks away, there is open gunfire in the streets.

In the same vein, entertainers command astronomical fees for their services. Michael Jordan, was paid $35 million to play a single season of basketball. Professional athletes and movie stars make millions of dollars. Most make more in one season or for one movie than the average citizen earns in a lifetime. But are they satisfied, when most would envy their position? Often they are pampered, temperamental, and hold out for more money. On the other hand, there are men and women who save lives and endanger their own lives on their job everyday. They do it not for entertainment, but to make life better and safer for all. The fireman, who goes into burning buildings, and the policeman, who puts his life on the line to protect the public, make a fraction of what society pays its entertainers. Society entrusts its most valued asset, its children, to public educators who are paid less in their career than a movie star makes from one film. The doctor, who saves lives, and the researchers, who work to find the cure for Aids and cancer, are the real heroes of society. Yet, they do not receive the pay or the respect of a professional athlete or entertainer. What role models does this create for our children?

Entertainment permeates every aspect of our lives. This is accomplished primarily through the use of television. It influences how people dress, eat, think, and to a large degree, how they will spend their money. Companies spend millions of dollars on commercials promoting their products. An effective strategy is to have their products used at sporting events or in television and movie shows. Entertainers and sports stars exert such influence that companies pay huge fees for them to endorse their products. Michael Jordan makes a great deal more from endorsements than he does playing basketball. Movie stars sell clothes, basketball players endorse shoes, and ex-jocks promote light beer, all with a good deal of success. Unfortunately, negative aspects of an entertainer s character can have severe consequences. Young athletes see their sports heroes trash talking and taunting opponents and suddenly, it is copied and becomes acceptable behavior. Teenagers are exposed to movies with explicit violence, sex, and drug use and are influenced in a negative way.

Entertainment in recent years, especially since the advent of television, has grown out of control. Society is willing to pay handsomely for its entertainment facilities, sports franchises, and entertainers. Some cities have even succumbed to blackmail by sports teams who threaten to move to other cities unless their exorbitant demands are met. In America, it is a universally accepted principle that the individual, who works hard for his money, should have the right to choose how he or she wishes to spend it. As long as society chooses to expend large amounts of its resources on entertainment the industry will continue to flourish. Perhaps, society should re-examine its priorities and look at the broader picture. There are more important issues facing society than extravagant entertainment agendas. It is irreverent to build a $37 million stadium for a baseball team, which will use it sixty-five times a year when the city cannot afford to keep the streets clear of snow or provide security at public schools. People should realize that the researcher who finds the cure for cancer is far more valuable than the football player who scores the winning touchdown. Society should not let entertainment control it, but should restore some common sense by allocating its resources through more prudent spending habits.