Our fascination for unusual talents or behaviors has yet to wane. Talented singers, musicians, and sportsmen often have a large fanbase, which can be monetized. Politicians can also have a large following due to their influence on normal people’s lives, but they are strictly forbidden from making money off of their followers. This explains why famous people’s earnings can be significantly more than those of high-ranking government officials. I believe that this development is unwelcome.
At the root of the income disparity between celebrities and politicians is the nature of their jobs. The former cohort focuses almost entirely on satisfying their fans and the better they do this, the more money they receive. As such, they enjoy an untrammelled stream of income from their main profession, and mostly from endorsing certain products on their platforms. For example, Christiano Ronaldo charges 2 million dollars for an endorsement post on his Facebook account, which has tens of millions of followers. Renowned politicians like Barack Obama also have millions of followers, but people would be appalled if he started selling merchandise on his Twitter account.
This yearning chasm between famous people and politicians in terms of earnings may have an indelible negative impact on society. It promotes the idea that politics is not worth pursuing, given the already prevalent market thinking that money governs everything. to illustrate, even though a senator has the power to bring forth laws affecting millions of people, he or she still lives on meager income, which only allows an austere lifestyle. By contrast, a fitness influencer can still make millions of dollars yearly, drive fancy cars, and lead a luxurious lifestyle. This may lead to a dearth in people pursuing a career in politics and people starting to admire the arguably genteel values offered by celebrities. While the former consequence can cause the government to be less effective, the latter will exacerbate materialism.
In conclusion, what lies at the core of the huge difference between famous individuals and politicians is the social stigmatization imposed on the latter regarding their riches and the way they make money. This phenomenon may attenuate people’s interest in having a career in politics and could lead to social problems.