Americans filed their tax returns last week, some with a groan as they wrote checks to Uncle Sam and others with gleeful laughter as they planned how to spend their refund. Even our three remaining candidates filed their returns and although their income was much higher than my own, thanks to tax laws, it is probably safe to say that they paid a smaller percentage of their income than you and I.
So, what did they report and how did they file?
John McCain, who has multiple income sources from his senator's salary, his Navy pension, and royalties from his books filed separately from his wife, reporting a total individual income of $405,409 for 2007.
Barack and Michelle Obama filed joint returns combining his senator's salary, book royalties, and her salary to report $4.2 million dollars of earnings.
Bill and Hillary report that while she does have a salary from being a senator and royalties from her books and Bill has his former Presidential Pension (did you know that we taxpayers pay a pension to former presidents and surviving first ladies for the rest of their lives?), the majority of their income came from Bill's speaking engagements. What was that income? Oh, just $20.4 million. Not bad for two kids from Arkansas.
I think that I have made it clear in previous posts that I have no problem with individuals making a good living or having money, I do wonder how these people who are wanting our votes, can relate to those of us living on a budget. Do gas prices really mean that much to Hillary and Bill? Do you think that they will stick around New York this summer instead of going on a big vacation because of the price of gas? Do you think that the Obama's are considering buying a cow if the price of milk goes up any more? What about John McCain? Do you think that he has researched going to Canada for medical treatment or prescriptions because of the rising cost of health care?
I think it would be a safe bet to say that the candidates have not had to think about changing their live style because of rising costs of gas, groceries, or medication. but these are just some of the items that are hitting middle class Americans hard. Can these three individuals really understand what life is like on $7 an hour?
Maybe we could test them to see how good they really are. Okay, Hillary, balance this budget: Yearly household income $41,000 (average middle class family income), come up under budget for the year. Make sure you include transportation, housing, utilities (think she even knows how much the average electric bill is?), child care, health care, and if there is anything else left you have to feed your family too. Once everything is balanced, remind her that Christmas is in December, tell her that the kid breaks his arm in June, the car needs repaired in September and just for fun, have the air conditioner break, oh, say, mid August. What do you do with that Johnny boy? How about it Barack, can you make a change I can believe in here?
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I do think that Obama and Hillary are a little more in touch with what it takes to make it on a middle income salary. The Obama's only recently started making more money and he chose to work as a community organizer rather than work at a big law firm back in the day. Not a prudent financial decision for a guy with two student loans from Harvard to pay off!
The Clinton's new found wealth is only about ten years old. Although it is staggering and there are a lot of questions surrounding it, and rightly so. When they were in AR they lived off the $35,000 governors salary and her law firm salary.
Ideologically the Democrats are more in touch with what's going on with the struggling middle class. Although the GOP could have made major inroads into that demographic if they had taken Mike Huckabee a lot more seriously. Remember the debate at the Reagan library when he said they [Republicans] had to wake up and see that people are really hurting financially?
Ok, so your last challenge to the candidates regarding the $41,000 budget is already answered. Look at the way Obama's campaign has been run fiscally in comparison to Hillary's. It's night and day. Obama gets small donations and taps the well over and over again. I heard he has $41 million in cash right now! That's amazing discipline, management, and strategy that puts him such a better footing than ANY candidate. Hillary, like you said, is in the big time red. Obama should point to that mismanagement of funds and poor strategy. I think how the candidates serve as the Executive of their campaigns gives a big indication of how they would serve as an Executive of the Government.
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