Income inequality in the U.S

By Alexa Lago, Opinion Editor

Forbes recently released its list of highest earning celebrity couples of 2013. The amount of money the top five couples made is not only astonishing, but completely ridiculous given their careers.

Perhaps the most hated couple in America, Kayne West and Kim Kardashian, came in at number five on the list.

According to Forbes, the new parents made $30 million this year alone.

Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis came in at number four, making a total of $35 million together.

Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie came in at number three at $50 million and were behind by Tom Brady and Gisele Bundchen, who together grossed $80 million.

Finally, coming in at number one were Beyoncé and Jay Z, who made $95 million this year.

The amount of money these powerhouse couples make is insane. While the rest of us are hard at work, they simply earn their money by entertaining us.

In fact, we give them our hard-earned money by seeing their movies, buying their albums and going to their concerts.  Every time we give money to the entertainment industry we are helping them earn millions of dollars.

The sad part is that many Americans can only ever dream of making that kind of money.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau’s report on incomes and poverty, in 2012 the median household income was $51,017. That’s how much a middle-class family averaged making in the year.

When compared to the incomes of the couples above, the reality of their outrageous incomes is staggering.

President Obama makes $400,000 per year. Really think about that for a moment … The president of our country, the commander-in-chief of our nation, doesn’t even make half of what Kim Kardashian and Kayne West make in a year.

A reality TV star and a rapper make more money than the President of the United States. They will have made more in a year than President Obama will in his eight years in office.

Is there not something incredibly wrong with that?

It’s really sad to see that we live in this sort of fame-driven culture that allows this to happen.

Many work for a measly $7.85 an hour at minimum wage and that’s before taxes are taken out, while celebrities can sign a single endorsement and make more than we can in a year.

It’s sickening and of course never going to change, at least in our lifetime anyway.

So next time you watch Tom Brady play on a Sunday, watch an episode of “Keeping Up with the Kardashians,” or listen to a song of Beyoncé’s, hopefully you will remember how much your entertainment is really worth.