Generally speaking, wealthy people are not supposed to be eligible for welfare, and yet many of them routinely take advantage of subsidies and tax breaks not afforded to the rest of us. And boy do they make out like bandits in a financial crisis. Take for instance when the COVID pandemic began. By March of 2020, Congress had passed the CARES Act, designed to put emergency cash into the hands of regular folk, most of whom were under lock-down orders, and unable to pay bills. But, as ProPublica reported, 18 billionaires and hundreds of millionaires received stimulus checks that they didn’t need. We may never be able to reform the corporate welfare system, but there is legislation pending that might slow down the gravy train for ex-commanders-in-chief.
With just a few exceptions, America’s presidents have either entered office wealthy, became that way after leaving, or both. Donald Trump, for example, is reportedly worth over 3 billion dollars, but George Washington was not exactly destitute. In today’s dollars, the Father of Our Country was worth nearly 600 million dollars before he became president. Others who were worth over 100 million dollars included Jefferson, Jackson, Madison, Teddy Roosevelt, and LBJ.
Bill Clinton came to Washington virtually broke, and today is worth over 90 million dollars. Of the other surviving presidents, Obama is close behind with $70 million, George W. Bush is worth $40 million, and poor Jimmy Carter brings up the rear with a net wealth of just $10 million. OK, so what does all this have to do with welfare for the wealthy? A lot as it turns out.
We all know that when a president leaves office, he is still protected by the Secret Service. He sets up and staffs an office wherever he wants. He and his family get to travel extensively. His phone bills and postage are taken care of. He pays hardly anything for his healthcare premiums, and, of course, he receives a generous pension. And while these perks are only currently afforded to five men, nevertheless, taxpayers shell out considerable funds for this elite club of multi-millionaires.
To start with, according to the National Taxpayers Union Foundation, each of our surviving presidents are paid over $221,400 per year for the rest of their lives. They each receive up to one million dollars per year for travel, and we give them $150,000 per year for staffing an office (that drops to a paltry $96,000 annually after the first 30 months). And what about those offices? George W. Bush spends $434,000 of our money to operate his office, while Bill Clinton hits us up for $579,000 each year just for office rent. We also reimbursed Bush for his $80,000 phone bill, and Jimmy Carter for his $15,000 in postage. Meanwhile, the budget for lifetime Secret Service protection has not been published, but you can bet it’s into the millions each year.
The origin of these taxpayer-funded perks came about in 1958 when Congress decided to subsidize Harry Truman’s retirement. That’s because Truman was virtually broke when he left office, so no one squawked at easing his burden. The problem is that Truman’s financial situation would have nothing in common with any of his successors. All those who followed Harry were multi-millionaires with an unlimited capacity for making money off of their name. Bill Clinton, for example, was paid $500,000 for making one speech, and he and Hillary together have pocketed over 150 million dollars in speaking fees between 2001 and 2015. Obama once earned $400,000 for a single speech, and he and Michelle received a 65 million dollar advance for a book deal.
The point is that anyone who makes a half-million dollars for one speech is not in need of government welfare. Enter Utah Congressman Jason Chaffetz, who, in 2016, introduced the Presidential Allowance Modernization Act which would have capped taxpayer-funded perks, and reduced them by one dollar for every dollar of gross income over $400,000. The bill as proposed garnered little support, nor did a later version, which was introduced in May 2019. Then, last month, Rep. Joni Ernst of Iowa revived the original bill, and on February 17 it was referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, where it is awaiting action by the Senate. But even if the bill passes, it doesn’t go far enough in limiting perks for ex-presidents. Moreover, it doesn’t extend to presidential cabinet secretaries and other high-level West Wing staff, most of whom are also wealthy and receive handsome government subsidies in retirement.
The bottom line is this. If you’re a former president worth 70 million dollars, and you make a half-million-dollar per speech, then you don’t need a hand-out from taxpayers. What you need is a reality check.
Time for Taxpayers to Stop Supporting Ex-Presidents
Generally speaking, wealthy people are not supposed to be eligible for welfare, and yet many of them routinely take advantage of subsidies and tax breaks not afforded to the rest of us. And boy do they make out like bandits in a financial crisis. Take for instance when the COVID pandemic began. By March of 2020, Congress had passed the CARES Act, designed to put emergency cash into the hands of regular folk, most of whom were under lock-down orders, and unable to pay bills. But, as ProPublica reported, 18 billionaires and hundreds of millionaires received stimulus checks that they didn’t need. We may never be able to reform the corporate welfare system, but there is legislation pending that might slow down the gravy train for ex-commanders-in-chief.
With just a few exceptions, America’s presidents have either entered office wealthy, became that way after leaving, or both. Donald Trump, for example, is reportedly worth over 3 billion dollars, but George Washington was not exactly destitute. In today’s dollars, the Father of Our Country was worth nearly 600 million dollars before he became president. Others who were worth over 100 million dollars included Jefferson, Jackson, Madison, Teddy Roosevelt, and LBJ.
Bill Clinton came to Washington virtually broke, and today is worth over 90 million dollars. Of the other surviving presidents, Obama is close behind with $70 million, George W. Bush is worth $40 million, and poor Jimmy Carter brings up the rear with a net wealth of just $10 million. OK, so what does all this have to do with welfare for the wealthy? A lot as it turns out.
We all know that when a president leaves office, he is still protected by the Secret Service. He sets up and staffs an office wherever he wants. He and his family get to travel extensively. His phone bills and postage are taken care of. He pays hardly anything for his healthcare premiums, and, of course, he receives a generous pension. And while these perks are only currently afforded to five men, nevertheless, taxpayers shell out considerable funds for this elite club of multi-millionaires.
To start with, according to the National Taxpayers Union Foundation, each of our surviving presidents are paid over $221,400 per year for the rest of their lives. They each receive up to one million dollars per year for travel, and we give them $150,000 per year for staffing an office (that drops to a paltry $96,000 annually after the first 30 months). And what about those offices? George W. Bush spends $434,000 of our money to operate his office, while Bill Clinton hits us up for $579,000 each year just for office rent. We also reimbursed Bush for his $80,000 phone bill, and Jimmy Carter for his $15,000 in postage. Meanwhile, the budget for lifetime Secret Service protection has not been published, but you can bet it’s into the millions each year.
The origin of these taxpayer-funded perks came about in 1958 when Congress decided to subsidize Harry Truman’s retirement. That’s because Truman was virtually broke when he left office, so no one squawked at easing his burden. The problem is that Truman’s financial situation would have nothing in common with any of his successors. All those who followed Harry were multi-millionaires with an unlimited capacity for making money off of their name. Bill Clinton, for example, was paid $500,000 for making one speech, and he and Hillary together have pocketed over 150 million dollars in speaking fees between 2001 and 2015. Obama once earned $400,000 for a single speech, and he and Michelle received a 65 million dollar advance for a book deal.
The point is that anyone who makes a half-million dollars for one speech is not in need of government welfare. Enter Utah Congressman Jason Chaffetz, who, in 2016, introduced the Presidential Allowance Modernization Act which would have capped taxpayer-funded perks, and reduced them by one dollar for every dollar of gross income over $400,000. The bill as proposed garnered little support, nor did a later version, which was introduced in May 2019. Then, last month, Rep. Joni Ernst of Iowa revived the original bill, and on February 17 it was referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, where it is awaiting action by the Senate. But even if the bill passes, it doesn’t go far enough in limiting perks for ex-presidents. Moreover, it doesn’t extend to presidential cabinet secretaries and other high-level West Wing staff, most of whom are also wealthy and receive handsome government subsidies in retirement.
The bottom line is this. If you’re a former president worth 70 million dollars, and you make a half-million-dollar per speech, then you don’t need a hand-out from taxpayers. What you need is a reality check.