The City Of Los Angeles claims the funeral for Michael Jackson cost taxpayers at least $4M. It is probably close to double that amount because, hey these are politicians. The city, like the state itself is very deep in debt. I mean we are the joke of the world because of the amount of debt we have. The State Of California which, if it were a country would be the 10th largest economy in the world is writing IOU's to people and businesses. Just pieces of paper, and yet the tax payers are being asked to foot the bill.
Here is the thing. I actually don't mind paying for some of it. The world was focused on Los Angeles and I think because of this that tourist revenues will increase and thus tourism taxes and so I am ok for paying a portion of it. However, with that being said, I think that The Jackson Family and AEG need to foot some of this bill also.
You may have heard that there were 17,000 people at the funeral at Staples Center yesterday. But, about half of those were people personally invited by The Jackson family. So, in essence the City is paying for their funeral. If they wanted to invited 9,000 people they could have invited them to Neverland but then they would have had to pay the bill. This way they got the City and by the City, I mean me and everyone else who lives here.
Now, as far as AEG goes, they own Staples Center so there was no cost to them for that. Yes, they had employees who worked and they probably paid for those people. However, this is the company that was putting on the Michael Jackson shows in London and I think if they can afford to pay Michael all that money to perform, they can probably pay a portion of the $4M. I'm not asking the Jacksons and AEG to pay for all of the funeral, but if they invited half the guests, I think they should pay for half of the cost. Fair?
I also want to say that looking back over the comments about the gloves yesterday in the photos that it was tacky and so I apologize for that.
Your apology- a touch of class, nicely done, ENT.
ReplyDeleteITA with everything you said Enty...I live in LA area as well and I dont' see anything wrong with paying for part of it, seeing as the whole world is LA focused for this event. AEG and the family should pick up portions of it as well. AND if some wealthy individuals could step forward for the Lakers celebration, I would also think some others could step up to the plate for this.
ReplyDeleteJMHO
Now, can we get them to open up Hayvenhurst, I've lost my back way to and from work because they wont' kick out the people sitting in front of the Jackson compound, BIG SIGH!!
The Jackson family and AEG should foot the entire bill! When my father died we the family paid for the funeral not the city where his viewing was.
ReplyDeleteKFC should make a contribution towards the cost. They got a nice plug yesterday and they need some good publicity.
ReplyDeleteso true Amazon!
ReplyDeleteEnty- nicely said.it's not how you screw up, but how you fix it! ;o)
Why apologize for the remark about the gloves? The gloves themselves were tacky. Most of the Jackson family is tacky.
ReplyDeleteI don't think you needed to apologise for the gloves comment.
ReplyDeleteThe whole funeral was an extravaganza of tack.
Sounds reasonable that they should pay at least half if not all of the bill. When us "regular" folks bury our loved ones we have to pay for the entire bill so I don't think the Jacksons or AEG should have a problem with paying something. We'll see what happens.
ReplyDeleteWhat I find INCREDIBLE to believe is how a city with more millionaire/billionaire celebrities is CASH STRAPPED, WTF?!?! With all the Hollywood actors, dancers, singers, artists, producers, directors, choreographers, et al in residence alone you can pay off the California debt, so what is the problem??!
ReplyDeleteCan someone explain this to me?
I loved the glove comment... but am happy to see that once again, you know when to say 'sorry'. Wish more people were like you Enty.
ReplyDeleteI wasn't paying that much attention yesterday, but weren't his brothers the pall bearers? The gloved hand being the one to hold the casket? 3 one one side, 3 on the other.
But then again, I could be wrong.
Thanks Enty for the apology I for one totally understand what the ONE glove thing meant to them and how it represented MJ.
ReplyDeleteIn regards to who should pay the bill for the service, the people who stand to benefit the most should pay, i.e... AEG and the Jackson family. I also think it's dumb to tell people it's free to attend and then go back and ask the public to PAY for those people. If they needed the money they should have charged a fee or don't do it at all.
montana, good question. i'm guessing cali has over spent its budget?
ReplyDelete...and no the taxpayers should not have to foot the entire bill.
Montana...believe it or not, LA County/City has a HUGE range of incomes. LA isn't just the rich and famous.
ReplyDeleteI live in LA and this makes me furious. I'm already facing at least an 8% salary cut this year and probably another 4% on top of that for next year (I work for UCLA-a public institution).
And I agree with Christine--Hayvenhurst closing is annoying, the turn off Sunset to his Holmby Hills home is blocked off...the day he died, it was impossible to get work done on campus with the helicopters everywhere.
I'm not even talking about the pedophile issue here...he was a singer.
No apology needed. I truly hope the gloves were for carrying the coffin because that would make some sense. I too notice the left-handed gloves right away and scratched my head about it
ReplyDeleteThe royalties from iTunes last week alone could cover all costs.
ReplyDeleteEnty, I appreciate that you reflect on your posts. You are the best!
I honestly don't know how the city and state is going broke! Green Wave is right, LA isn't all rich and famous, BUT I have lived in many other cities and states and have NEVER paid so much in taxes AND still OWE money every year to the state, with paying a huge amount in taxes and we are still broke.
ReplyDeletePlenty of blame to go around in the city and state for these woes, but this is a gossip site and not a politics one, thank goodness ;)
Green Wave, I feel bad for you working up at UCLA, traffic alone, then the pay cuts :(
Good point Montana. I have often wondered the same thing. So many really rich people with fancy cars, houses and so what is the problem. I think property taxes only go up in California if you buy an new house so if you stay in a house for thirty years your paying almost nothing. May be wrong but thats what someone told me once.
ReplyDelete@allisonshine72... nice observation about the gloves -- I heard (think it was on BBC news) that the brothers were indeed the pallbearers and wore matching Versace suits, yellow ties and sequined gloves. It would look be more aesthetically pleasing if they split 3 pairs...
ReplyDeleteAND... if WE are having to pay for Michaelpalooza, I would rather pay for 3 pair of gloves than 6!
Enty, you ne'er need to apologise. You are a class act and the greatest!
I could go on and on about why I think my State is broke, but I have to listen to that crap from the significant other.
ReplyDeleteL.A. seriously overshot the police presence when not nearly the amount of people as thought came out for the service. That's just one good example of how smart we are at planning our resources.
I thought it was hilarious that L.A. is asking for donations to cover the costs. Does anybody know how much has been raised? With our luck, California is probably in the hole to paypal too.
Montana: I saw a news show a few months ago that covered the whole "Holy Shit, where'd the money go?' thing. It boils down to this: 80% of California's wealth was held by 5% of the population. When the markets dropped, the investors pulled out. It takes more than fancy houses & celebrities to keep a state moving & spending.
ReplyDeleteCelebs are cheap motherfuckers. How many swag bags have we seen them carry around? They'll grab tampons if they're free. They sure as hell don't keep the economy moving.
Perhaps, some of the 9,000 people the Jacksons invited should chip in? Don't tell me most of them can't write a check for $500, and we'd be done with this nonsense.
ReplyDeleteAs for the gloves, WHO CARES ABOUT THE STUPID GLOVES?
AEG should pay for this. they can afford it. don't they stand to get the money back from MJ's concerts that are now never going to happen? isn't that what insurance is for?
ReplyDeleteit would be a show of good will for them to just fork over the money and be done with this. it's sad to me that it's even an issue and they apparently aren't doing one thing about it.
I think they should pay the WHOLE cost. This was their own funeral, and they let other people come. There wouldn't have been those 8,000 other people to pay for if the family hadn't arranged this funeral for itself.
ReplyDeleteIf they hadn't had it for themselves, there wouldn't have been any cost to the City at all--and so, they should pay it all.
Remember a while back when the pope died? The (very old) head of one religion took over our TVs, our magazines and our lives. If you werent Catholic, you had to watch cable.
ReplyDeleteI feel the same about MJ. The coverage has been grossly out of proportion.
Did anybody see the tape of the three sisters thanking the overflow crowd at the Nokia? At least Rebbie mentioned the City of Los Angeles. I heard that the City may recoup it's losses by the revenue generated by paps, press, and MJ's fans.
ReplyDeleteSomehow I don't see them spending $4 million on t-shirts and In and Out.
Yet another reason I will never move to LA :-)
ReplyDeleteOMG, this is hilarious. TMZ sez only $17,000 has been raised. The City of L.A. couldn't handle the incoming donations. I wonder if their I.T. person was on furlough?
ReplyDeleteThis whole mess was a joke. Who made this a three ring circus? The family? The media? The city should have stayed the hell out of it. If the Jacksons and his backers wanted a media sideshow, they needed to foot the bill themselves.
ReplyDeleteBy the way Enty I saw nothing tacky about your comment. That whole charlie foxtrot of a "memorial service" on the other hand was tacky supreme.
i don't think that comment was tacky. i thought it was funny. clever. witty. perhaps it was hurtful to some. wasn't hurtful to me, as i could obviously see that there was no malicious intent to it. but nice of you to apologize, just the same.
ReplyDeleteoh, and here's the thing about cali being broke and whatnot - it is a city of extravagance and fun and image and shopping and decadence (mind, i do realize that there are problems, crime, death and everything else negative to opposite proportions, but bear with my blanket statement to illustrate my point).
ReplyDeleteyes, people shell out obscene amounts of money for cars, clothes, plastic surgery, etc. but that's fun spending!! think about how boring it is to not spend money on fun things. how boring to have to do things like operate within a - oh my - budget. be practical and rational. it is a city (blanketing here again) that has been based on feeling good and enjoying excesses without reason. feeling good is good! so, no wonder there is debt!
so, there is my devil's advocate. and there is some sarcasm there.
*steps down off of soapbox.
Typical California dumbassery. That state is paying it's bills with IOU's (which banks will not accept any more at the end of this week, BTW), yet they run up a $4 million dollar bill for something as unimportant as this? But liberalism and having the Dems in charge is just GREAT, huh? Maybe they'll raise your taxes some more, and MORE businesses (ie the people who PAY the taxes in CA) will flee the state like they've been doing since, oh, 2002 or so. It's obviously worked out so well in CA that we should totally do it for the rest of the country!
ReplyDeleteGod, why the hell would anyone want to live in that socialist hellhole state? The idiocy and failed social programs have bankrupted it, and they're STILL spending! Insanity!
I would be absolutely furious if my tax dollars were paying for that shit while the CA government is threatening to cut police/fire services while continuing the $1 MILLION dollar subsidy to the Indian Basketweavers Association (no, that is not a joke, it's the truth), among others. If you live in CA and are not outraged, then you haven't been paying attention. If you live ANYWHERE and support these irresponsible tax-and-spend policies after seeing what it's done to CA, then you are an idiot and should immediately remove yourself from the gene pool. Ridiculous.
Oh yeah, and don't think that the residents of the other 49 states won't have their tax dollars go to bail out CA, which is effectively punishing those of us who live in (mostly) fiscally responsible states. So we all end up being punished because of liberals and their asinine, irresponsible, destructive social policies. Yay! No wonder so many states and their residents are talking about seceding from the US....
ReplyDelete*OK right-wing extremist rant over :)