SUNDAY Chris Martin did show up, and to his credit he kept the crowd near the stage in Central Park from freaking out after a barrier fell. The fans thought it was gunshots. For a group that’s supposed to be about knocking down barriers, they didn’t seem to get the metaphor. That was on MSNBC. On FoxNews, Trump proclaimed he’s fallen in love with Kim Jung Un. Really. This all happened at the same time.
SATURDAY It’s time for the annual Global Poverty Concert, now called Global Citizen.
Here’s the rundown of main salaries. On their 2016 Form 990, Global Citizen spent $7 million totally on salaries, of the $11 million in revenue. And the revenue was down $5 million from 2015.
Global Citizen DOES NOT give money to poor or hungry people. I don’t know why no one gets this. They spend money to PERSUADE governments or corporations to give money to those people. If the governments or corporations were helping poor or hungry people anyway, Global Citizen takes the credit.
They spend another $7 million or more on rock concerts, for which they get sponsors. The sponsors’ money goes to Global Citizen’s expenses– like travel, food, rent, and salaries.
Their founder and leader, Hugh Evans, is making upwards of $300,000 a year. So is their chief operating officer. It’s a good gig.
Anyway, how can you trust a concert that bills The Weeknd before Janet Jackson?
Do notice the absence, live, for the second year in a row, of Chris Martin from Coldplay. He’s supposed to be Global Citizen’s ambassador. The group is not on tour. Last year, Global Citizen overlapped with the I Heart Radio festival. Not this year. In 2015 he said he signed on to the organization’s “curator” for 15 years. Maybe he’s finally figured out what’s going on.
