Originally Posted by
Alan Mendelson
It's safe to say there are different levels of successful APs. Some people are very happy and successful getting $40,000 or $60,000 a year being an AP while others need the same amount of income PLUS health and retirement benefits. No one can pass judgment. You do what's best for you and you wish others the best for what they do.
I belong to a big union, SAG-AFTRA, in which there are people who earn $3,000 a year and people who earn $3-million or more to shoot a movie in two months time. What you appreciate is that regardless of the income level they all have talent and they all have their levels of success.
If an AP tells me he is successful earning $50,000 a year without benefits I wish him the best for his success.
Benefits are not free for anyone. If you are the company owner then you pay cash for them. If you are an employee then you pay for them with your labor. None of it is free. Alan, you guys always talk about benefits like it's free candy. It's not. You pay for it.
Alan, here's a question to ponder. Rob says he made 100K for ten years but through creative accounting payed no income tax. Would he have been better off to show a 30K profit and stick it all in a tax free retirement account--which any professional gambler is eligible to do?