I really like Obama, but in this modern age there is no real need for the President to make a salary of $400,000 per year. Right?
For several decades each new president has already been wealthy when entering office. After leaving office the multi-million dollar book deals, lucrative speaking tours, and their general celebrity makes the idea of paying the president seem silly.
I think the presidential salary during office should be revoked and that our current president should set a strong precedent by working for only one dollar per year.
U.S. citizens are all making sacrifices in our daily lives and we will have to make more. I think this symbolic gesture would mean a lot and would send a strong message to corporate america as well.
President George Washington refused to accept his salary asking that his living expenses to be covered. I think that paying living expenses is an acceptable thing to do. Currently this is $50,000 per year according to Wikipedia.
John F. Kennedy donated his salary to charity.
I think that in this economic down turn it would be the right message for President Obama to do something along this line.
More info on wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/President_of_the_United_States#Salary
Comments (8)
That works for me.
This is beyond the pale. The most important job should be done for nothing? Maybe Congress should work for nothing? They are the ones that get large contributions from lobbyist and take two weeks off for a one day holiday. Seems they are the ones that are overpaid.
Think of the slippery slope. When does it end? Will we force other wealthy politicians to work for free?
Sure. Them, too.
I'm on the Board of Trustees at my kids' school. I work for nothing because I want the job done. They don't even pay me for gas mileage.
Unfortunately Texas has tried this and it seems that it only encourages corruption :(
It is an interesting idea, but I think it has to be done voluntarily. Gov. Corzine (NJ) works for $1/year, as does Mayor Bloomberg (NYC). The term "dollar-a-year-man" came from the practice of the wealthy taking a $1/year salary. However, living expenses might be a lot more than this amount, so be careful. . . . I'm not sure what portion of the First Family's expenses are publicly paid and what is private; openness in this area would help this discussion along. In some ways this comes down to an integrity vs. greed issue, which may not be amenable to legislation.
President Obama would be more respected if he donated more or all of his salary to a reputable cause.
well, many years ago, i hypothesized that corruption in federal government might be lessened if all congressmonkeys got a $1Million a year salary and it were illegal for them to accept ANY money from ANY other sources... speeches, donations, whatever...
but as for Obama, how would you suggest that a guy in his position figure out how to pay for his kids' college educations? or is that one of the hard decisions a presidential candidate should have to make?
:)
+af