Art and the Batshit who Buy It

Contrary to what that title suggests, I actually love art. Art's a fantastic thing that societies need to beautify and enlighten themselves. Social qualities aside, art is being sold for entirely too much money right now. In a Christie's Auction, a Warhol piece sold for 71.7 Million dollars American. This comes close to, but does not surpass, the record set by the sale of a Rothko canvas which sold for 72.76 million dollars. Maybe it's just me and my infinite cheapness, but doesn't that seem kind of high for a piece of art, a piece that may conceivably have no greater connection to the artist other than the fact that their name MAY be on it? I don't think that anyone, even the best salesman on Earth, could convince me to shell out 70+ million dollars on one thing! The fact that people are buying things at these sorts of levels blows my mind.

Look at How Much Money We Spend on Defense

Top Ten Defense Budgets Internationally

USA - $466bn
China - $65bn
Russia - $50bn (est)
France - $45bn
UK - $42.8bn
Japan - $41.75bn
Germany - $35.1bn
Italy - $28.2bn
South Korea - $21.1bn
India - $19bn

We spend over 700% more than the second place country! Why do we spend so much money on defense. Oh, right, we're still working on the missile defense system from the Reagan era (you know, the one with the video), it's just that no one talks about it anymore in the mainstream media. It's too busy dealing with Dannielynn's father's extended court battle with Anna Nicole Smith's gold digging estranged mother. Honestly, you think that this interest in the child is sincere?