The insanity of salaries.

Vanna White is a pretty women, beautiful even, and she looks wonderful in every dress she wears on the "Wheel of Fortune". Her job doesn't require much: she must smile, clap a lot, move gracefully and, of course, turn over letters. She has been doing this since 1982.And, I am guessing, she is a very dependable employee and a pleasure to work with. But I find it astonishing that her annual salary is reported to be as high as $4 million. Even if it's only $2 million that's an incredible amount of money for someone who is basically a 54-year old model. But what amazes even more is how she got that salary. She does not strike me as someone who would insist angrily that her letter-turning skills are worth a fortune. Nor can I imagine the show's producers feeling that she is absolutely indispensable and there is not another model who couldn't, after a brief adjustment, fit right in. So, it must be that the show makes so much money, the producers can say, "Oh, what the hell. Give her a two million dollar raise. We can afford it." In which cases she's a very lucky woman since I assume thousands of equally beautiful women would think $200,000 a princely price for this princess's job. Well more power to her. But I find salaries very disturbing. not because so many people are overpaid but because so many hard-working, dependable, valuable people are so grossly underpaid.

Note: Pat Sajak's salary is a well-guarded secret. But one can only imagine how much he's paid in relation to Vanna. However, like Vanna, he seems to be a genuinely nice person unlike so many millionaires we love to hate.

P.S. I wouldn't want anyone to think I watch "Wheel." I find it incredibly tedious and over-hyped. But I usually catch the fnal puzzle before watching "Jeopardy." Oh, my God. How much must Alex make!