Tuesday, September 11, 2012

Art Pigs

Ol' J.P. Getty wanted his Museum to be free, & it is. Uh, save for the parking fee, which probably wasn't part of his bequest. So here's a surprise:
That's an impressive number: $6.4 million in parking revenue, more than the annual income of many, many non-profits in Los Angeles. For those who are chagrined by the unofficial admission fee, the plot thickens when they look deeper into the 990 forms. They show the parking income in tax year 2009 was just $4,707,447. That year the Getty bumped the parking charge up to $15, saying it was necessary to keep the museum financially healthy. About 200 positions were also eliminated. By 2011, the last year for which the Getty has filed, the parking revenue had swelled to $6.4 million. So the parking fee hike, and any increase in visits, brought in an extra $1,774,200 a year.

Those same 990 forms also show that between 2009 and last year, the amount paid in compensation to officers, directors and trustees also swelled — from $2,301,872 (in '09) to $4,062,574 (in '11.) That's a net increase in high-level salaries of $1,760,702 for the year.

Using what Bill Clinton calls arithmetic, that suggests all but $16,502 of the increased parking revenues went for compensation to the highest officers at the Getty. Nice to know, if you're just an art lover who wants to visit one of the richest-endowed museums in the world.
Do as we do, tell those fuckers to go to hell by taking the bus to their temple of greed. Honestly, we only go for the grounds & view; few of the exhibitions are worth the drive or the parking fee.

Christ, what a bunch of greedy assholes.

5 comments:

zombie rotten mcdonald said...

Also a key consideration in Bud Selig's refusal to consider placing the Brewer's/Loser's stadium downtown, where it actually might have helped inspire a little ancillary economic development.

M. Bouffant said...

Parked Editor:
The parking, or just the greed?

And hey, those Brewers have keen initials, don't be mean.

BadTux said...

For the best, Zombie. The SuperDome has certainly done wonders for the neighborhood in New Orleans in which it is located, after all. Why, that neighborhood now has the best crack whores and crack houses in the whole city!

- Badtux the Snarky Penguin

Substance McGravitas said...

But now where can the worst crack-whores stay?

M. Bouffant said...

Helping Editor:
Plenty of floor space in the bunker here!

Once saw an attempted prostitution transaction in which the trick was advised: "$20? You want a crack ho. Try on Hobart." Hobart being about 20 blks. east from our much nicer (& pricier) area of Sunset Blvd.