I see your point. But putting something like survivor on TV costs a lot of
money. Who ultimately pays for that? Advertisers, of course, but who pays
them? A lot of business expenses get written off. And what do we get for
it? Flatulence as entertainment!
Ed
The old fashioned moralist.
Visit my rebuilt website at:
http://members.eisa.com/~ec086636/
> Ah, but it is different, isn't it? I think I'm with Arthur.
> The point isn't sports versus art or versus TV shows --
> aren't we talking here about expense accounts? It's the
> galling fact that as taxpayers we in effect pay for a
> significant part of the cost of those expense account items.
> Isn't that what gets our goat? Does anybody really believe
> they are justified as a cost of doing business?
>
>
> Gail Stewart
> [EMAIL PROTECTED]
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: Ed Weick <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>;
> <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> Sent: Thursday, January 18, 2001 6:00 PM
> Subject: Re: Who pays, who benefits?
>
>
> > Live with it Arthur. In terms of moral stench how is this
> different from
> > "Survivor" or "How would You like to Marry a
> Milllionaire?" or putting eight
> > kids on camera in a Toronto loft for a year?
> >
> > Ed
> >
> > Visit my rebuilt website at:
> > http://members.eisa.com/~ec086636/
> >
> > > Every once in a while an otherwise innocuous story "gets
> my goat" as it
> > > shows the lopsided nature of the economy. Here is one.
> > >
> > > ===================================
> > >
> > > Wednesday, January 17, 2001
> > >
> > > Business Travel: Look to the Super Bowl to see how
> far
> > > corporations will go to entertain clients. ---
> > >
> > > The New York Times via Dow Jones
> > >
> > > Publication Date: Wednesday January 17, 2001
> > > New York Times Company
> > > By Joe Sharkey
> > >
> > > HEADACHE after headache after headache,'' Robert Tuchman
> was muttering
> > > fretfully one day
> > > last week.
> > >
> > > An odd complaint, maybe, for a young passionate sports
> fan who's all set
> > to
> > > attend the Super
> > > Bowl extravaganza in top-shelf style 10 days from now.
> But then you don't
> > > know the trouble he's
> > > seeing, running a company that arranges lavish business
> trips for
> > corporate
> > > Good-Time Charlies
> > > who are really looking to impress a client with, say, a
> three-day fling at
> > > the year's top sports
> > > event.
> > >
> > > Mr. Tuchman and others in his line of work see a side of
> business travel
> > > they don't tell you about
> > > if you're one of the working stiffs flying back there in
> steerage on a
> > > three-day swing through the
> > > Northwest, hoping to catch the red-eye back home in time
> for the kid's
> > > school play. This is the
> > > realm where top-level corporate America, private jets
> fueled up, party
> > hats
> > > on, shows what you
> > > can really do with an expense account if you put your
> mind to it.
> > >
> > > ''Corporations are willing to pay the dollars to go to
> these events,''
> > said
> > > Mr. Tuchman, 29, who
> > > founded Tuchman Sports Enterprises in New York five
> years ago when he
> > > decided there was a
> > > growing demand for a high-end corporate travel packager
> to arrange
> > elaborate
> > > trips for
> > > businesses to entertain clients or reward employees at
> illustrious
> > sporting
> > > events like the Super
> > > Bowl, the Olympics, the Masters or the Final Four
> tournament.
> > >
> > > ''An event like the Olympics -- where we had packages
> for 10 days and 9
> > > nights, all inclusive --
> > > there are companies that will pay $15,000, $20,000 per
> person and bring 20
> > > or 30 people,'' said
> > > Mr. Tuchman, whose company has been frantically at work
> putting out fires
> > > and making
> > > last-minute arrangements for the Super Bowl trips.
> > >
> > > ''We're going to have between 400 and 450 people going
> to the Super Bowl
> > in
> > > various separate
> > > packages -- 10 from this company, 20 from that one,''
> said Mr. Tuchman,
> > > whose company has 17
> > > employees and had $6.5 million in revenue last year.
> > >
> > > At these levels, you don't just get a good seat and a
> bag of peanuts. You
> > > get luxury
> > > accommodations. You get parties and hospitality suites,
> and tee-times at
> > the
> > > best golf courses.
> > > You get sports stars and other celebrities who will
> actually sit down and
> > > talk to you.
> > >
> > > At the highest end of this party spectrum, which is also
> the fastest
> > > growing, ''you take a
> > > corporate jet to the event,'' Mr. Tuchman said.
> > >
> > > ''You stay at a four- or five-star hotel, or what we'll
> do in some cases
> > is
> > > we'll rent private
> > > mansions for your party. We'll bring in a butler, a
> maid, a cook. Then
> > we'll
> > > also have a limo on
> > > call. There's dinner reservations arranged at the best
> restaurants.''
> > >
> > > He added: ''We'll bring in players who will come and
> meet and greet at
> > these
> > > homes or at the
> > > hotel, or go with people out to dinner. We can pretty
> much get anyone
> > except
> > > Michael Jordan or
> > > Tiger Woods. Most of these famous people are more than
> willing to put in a
> > > couple of hours of
> > > their time to just show up somewhere and greet people
> for $50,000 or
> > $60,000
> > > at a clip.''
> > >
> > > Clients of Tuchman Enterprises include about 100
> companies on the Fortune
> > > 500 roster. Getting
> > > them and their parties in grand style to sports
> extravaganzas or on
> > > customized golfing trips and
> > > other events is a major production. It requires vast
> attention to detail
> > and
> > > a network of sources
> > > in the sports, travel and hospitality industries who can
> come up with that
> > > elusive block of luxury
> > > rooms or that precious 50-yard-line ticket, or make that
> table appear in
> > the
> > > best restaurant in
> > > town.
> > >
> > > Scalpers are now asking $2,000 and up for Super Bowl
> tickets in the
> > > nose-bleed sections. Mr.
> > > Tuchman said his company got enough tickets to serve
> clients from the
> > usual
> > > outlets, and also
> > > from National Football League players, coaches and
> staff, most of whom
> > > receive two free
> > > tickets. ''We have our sources,'' he said.
> > >
> > > The Super Bowl used to be just a great big football
> game. But as corporate
> > > America's
> > > entertainment and business-account spending grew, it was
> no longer enough
> > > for the boss grandly
> > > to dole out a pair of tickets to a desirable client.
> Enter the stadium
> > > luxury box as a fixture of
> > > business entertainment. And now, the all-expense-paid
> trip.
> > >
> > > For some well-heeled companies, ''it's not good enough
> to have tickets or
> > > even a luxury box,''
> > > Mr. Tuchman said.
> > >
> > > ''Now you're all going after the same business, and the
> idea is to really
> > > impress clients. So you
> > > take them to the Super Bowl. You have them meet a
> celebrity. You get
> > tickets
> > > to the best parties
> > > so that your client will choose to go with you and not
> the other company
> > > that's offering another
> > > package to the Super Bowl. These events have become the
> places where
> > > corporate America
> > > comes to party.''
> > >
> > > Remember the old dispute over why the venerable
> three-martini lunch was a
> > > tax-deductible
> > > business expense, while a couple of baloney sandwiches
> shared by
> > > construction workers was
> > > not?
> > >
> > > That was a long time ago. The baloney sandwich still
> isn't deductible, but
> > > hiring some retired
> > > N.F.L. quarterback to visit a hotel party during a
> football weekend is now
> > a
> > > cost of doing
> > > business.
> > >
> > > ''It's kind of surreal in a way,'' Mr. Tuchman said.
> > >
> > > ======================
> > >
>
