Letter of the Day: Dowling's pay pales in comparision to what we receive

Last update: January 5, 2009 - 6:10 PM

I find it amazing that the artistic director of a nationally respected theater — the nation’s largest regional theater, I might add — is being criticized for the size of his salary when it is only a small percentage of the compensation “earned” by just about any professional athlete or CEO of a major corporation.

It’s a sad statement on our American value system when we will reward a guy who can throw a ball through a hoop (or score a touchdown or hit a homer) with millions of dollars a year, but we take pot shots at someone whose mission is to bring us theater that educates us to our own humanity in a truly unique and deeply meaningful way — a way which can alter our ideological paradigms, enable us to see the universality of our human experience and profoundly change our lives.

To put his work into a different perspective, Joe Dowling, who manages three theaters 365 days a year — theaters offering several hundred performances annually — makes far less than many professional and college football coaches. And for Rep. Marty Seifert to suggest that nonprofit pay be capped at the current governor’s salary is ridiculous. I’d say Tim Pawlenty’s salary of $120,000 is more than he deserved for the results of his efforts: a $5.2 billion deficit.

Marcia Aubineau, St. Paul

Recent Opinion Exchange stories

Let's go to the tape - January 5, 2009

Let's go to the tape - Fox News' Sean Hannity had Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann on his program to celebrate the success of her Capitol Hill tea party last week. More

Comment on this story | Read all 11 comments | Hide reader comments

New ideas for the public sector

THERE'S NEVER BEEN A BETTER TIME to create a more efficient Minnesota. Facing large budget deficits at the state, county and local levels, Minnesotans are seeing with new clarity that the public sector must adapt to new economic realities. Only the smartest, most strategic reinvention will ensure that our tax dollars are spent on the best programs and services. Read more

About Opinion Exchange

Opinion Exchange is produced by the Editorial Department, which is dedicated to hosting the discussion on a range of issues of interest to Star Tribune readers online and in print. In its new format, it's our hope that Opinion Exhange will create a more dynamic dialogue between Star Tribune readers and the Editorial Board. Many individual posts will be written and signed by members of the Editorial Board and will reflect their own opinions. Daily editorials will continue to represent the institutional voice of the newspaper and be researched and written by the Editorial Department, which is independent of the newsroom.

Subscribe to RSS|Learn more about RSS