I think it’s as simple as he and Michelle continuing to live in a style they will never again be able to achieve. His and hers private wide-body jets, $100 a pound Kobe beef every Wednesday for them and cronies, celebrities bowing to them (and giving them a sense of value they will never again have), extravagant separate vacations, huge staffs of what amount to servants — in short, $1.6 billion in White House-class (Versailles class?) living. Obama’s tax returns were instructive in one sense. When he and Michelle were making a combined $465,000, they had zero income from interest or investments. In other words, they had no savings. Other evidence exists that they have never been able to live within their means, and it certainly explains why he has no qualms about making the United States behave in the same destructive way.
I don’t think he has any more intent than that at this point.
“When he and Michelle were making a combined $465,000, they had zero income from interest or investments. ”
I also read their published tax returns and looked over their Schedule B. But I thought their combined income at that time was around $250,000, hence that magic quantity of 250K as defining the threshold of being “rich.”
“they had zero income from interest or investments”
As you can see, just the tax returns show he had very significant investments and savings before he became president.
But more importantly, tax returns don’t tell the whole story, and I think you know that.
They don’t tell the whole story, but they paint a picture, and it’s one that doesn’t poll well. Which is probably why you bothered to claim 1) He had a lot of investments and savings and 2) tax returns aren’t important. In the same comment. Of course they’re very important for some people, right?
Take charitable contributions. Obama’s tax returns show clearly that he finds the whole concept to be puzzling. If someone is giving to charity, it’s obviously an indication that government isn’t doing something it should, and that some people have more money than they need. If things were the way they should be, “charity” would fall out of the dictionary from lack of use.
Seriously Bob, what do you think the odds are that former-president Obama will spend any time building houses for Habitat for Humanity? Just the mental image makes me chuckle.
I’m responding the accusation that the president didn’t know how to save and invest before becoming president.
1) According to his tax returns, he did have significant investments and savings prior to becoming president.
I think this “claim” is beyond doubt.
2) I didn’t say tax returns aren’t important – I said they don’t tell the whole story. A tax return doesn’t reveal, for example, a growth stock that was inherited or purchased in years past.
It doesn’t show all sort of things about one’s financial picture. I’m sure MfK understands this, which is why I find his claim to be surprising.
As for charity, it is irrelevant to MfK’s claim, but once again: tax returns don’t tell the entire story. You can make significant charitable contributions which won’t show up on a tax return.
If you still think I’m contradicting myself, please explain why you think so. I find your mind very interesting.
Yup, Obama did pretty good for himself off a politician’s salary. Why make your fortune in the private sector when you, Obama specifically since he doesn’t have a mind for business, when you can make more from the tax payers and cronyism.
Oh sure, he made a lot off his books but look at who bought those books. No one seems to have actually read them. Who would buy a book or books and not actually read them; what could the purpose possibly be?
Most of Obama’s pre-Presidential money was made from sales of his two books (and maybe most of his post-presidential money too, I just don’t know one way or the other).
I bought and read The Audacity of Hope. I recall being at the bookstore, wondering what Obama thought about the separation of church and state, and the book addressed that, so I picked it up, just to read in the store, and there were other interesting chapters too, so I bought it.
I’ve never read Dreams From My Father, because my hero worship of Obama stems from his policies, not his personal life.
But when I was in Central Europe (numerous countries) during the summer of 2008, I met several unconnected people who were reading, or had just read, Dreams From My Father. (And everyone asked me about Obama as soon as they found out I was an American from Chicago.)
Ah well, the good old days. If Romney becomes President, I hope the dynamic here stays the same: Rand and the majority of his commenters incessantly complaining about how fundamentally socialist the President is, and a few people like Jim and Chris defending Moderate Mitt.
There is nothing “heroic” about Obama’s policies. I think there’s something wrong with people who pick politicians for heroes.
Well, I went looking for possible counter-examples for you — George Washington, Winston Churchill, figures from Israeli history like Moshe Dayan, Yithak Rabin, and David Ben-Gurion. But I don’t care anymore. Instea, I got sidetracked by the following, which I had never heard about before.
This is completely off-topic, and Rand, please consider this a personal note to you, just to say that the following is pretty interesting: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Altalena_Affair
Combat between the IDF and Irgun, involving Ben Gurion, Rabin, and Menachem Begin. I kept saying “wow!” as I read the article.
I said “politicians,” not statesmen. Barack Obama is no George Washington or Winston Churchill. Or even a Ben-Gurion.
I think it’s as simple as he and Michelle continuing to live in a style they will never again be able to achieve. His and hers private wide-body jets, $100 a pound Kobe beef every Wednesday for them and cronies, celebrities bowing to them (and giving them a sense of value they will never again have), extravagant separate vacations, huge staffs of what amount to servants — in short, $1.6 billion in White House-class (Versailles class?) living. Obama’s tax returns were instructive in one sense. When he and Michelle were making a combined $465,000, they had zero income from interest or investments. In other words, they had no savings. Other evidence exists that they have never been able to live within their means, and it certainly explains why he has no qualms about making the United States behave in the same destructive way.
I don’t think he has any more intent than that at this point.
“When he and Michelle were making a combined $465,000, they had zero income from interest or investments. ”
I also read their published tax returns and looked over their Schedule B. But I thought their combined income at that time was around $250,000, hence that magic quantity of 250K as defining the threshold of being “rich.”
“they had zero income from interest or investments”
Here is a site where you can look up Obama’s investment transactions and income:
http://www.opensecrets.org/pfds/CIDsummary.php?CID=N00009638&year=2008
As you can see, just the tax returns show he had very significant investments and savings before he became president.
But more importantly, tax returns don’t tell the whole story, and I think you know that.
They don’t tell the whole story, but they paint a picture, and it’s one that doesn’t poll well. Which is probably why you bothered to claim 1) He had a lot of investments and savings and 2) tax returns aren’t important. In the same comment. Of course they’re very important for some people, right?
Take charitable contributions. Obama’s tax returns show clearly that he finds the whole concept to be puzzling. If someone is giving to charity, it’s obviously an indication that government isn’t doing something it should, and that some people have more money than they need. If things were the way they should be, “charity” would fall out of the dictionary from lack of use.
Seriously Bob, what do you think the odds are that former-president Obama will spend any time building houses for Habitat for Humanity? Just the mental image makes me chuckle.
I’m responding the accusation that the president didn’t know how to save and invest before becoming president.
1) According to his tax returns, he did have significant investments and savings prior to becoming president.
I think this “claim” is beyond doubt.
2) I didn’t say tax returns aren’t important – I said they don’t tell the whole story. A tax return doesn’t reveal, for example, a growth stock that was inherited or purchased in years past.
It doesn’t show all sort of things about one’s financial picture. I’m sure MfK understands this, which is why I find his claim to be surprising.
As for charity, it is irrelevant to MfK’s claim, but once again: tax returns don’t tell the entire story. You can make significant charitable contributions which won’t show up on a tax return.
If you still think I’m contradicting myself, please explain why you think so. I find your mind very interesting.
Yup, Obama did pretty good for himself off a politician’s salary. Why make your fortune in the private sector when you, Obama specifically since he doesn’t have a mind for business, when you can make more from the tax payers and cronyism.
Oh sure, he made a lot off his books but look at who bought those books. No one seems to have actually read them. Who would buy a book or books and not actually read them; what could the purpose possibly be?
Most of Obama’s pre-Presidential money was made from sales of his two books (and maybe most of his post-presidential money too, I just don’t know one way or the other).
I bought and read The Audacity of Hope. I recall being at the bookstore, wondering what Obama thought about the separation of church and state, and the book addressed that, so I picked it up, just to read in the store, and there were other interesting chapters too, so I bought it.
I’ve never read Dreams From My Father, because my hero worship of Obama stems from his policies, not his personal life.
But when I was in Central Europe (numerous countries) during the summer of 2008, I met several unconnected people who were reading, or had just read, Dreams From My Father. (And everyone asked me about Obama as soon as they found out I was an American from Chicago.)
Ah well, the good old days. If Romney becomes President, I hope the dynamic here stays the same: Rand and the majority of his commenters incessantly complaining about how fundamentally socialist the President is, and a few people like Jim and Chris defending Moderate Mitt.
There is nothing “heroic” about Obama’s policies. I think there’s something wrong with people who pick politicians for heroes.
Well, I went looking for possible counter-examples for you — George Washington, Winston Churchill, figures from Israeli history like Moshe Dayan, Yithak Rabin, and David Ben-Gurion. But I don’t care anymore. Instea, I got sidetracked by the following, which I had never heard about before.
This is completely off-topic, and Rand, please consider this a personal note to you, just to say that the following is pretty interesting:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Altalena_Affair
Combat between the IDF and Irgun, involving Ben Gurion, Rabin, and Menachem Begin. I kept saying “wow!” as I read the article.
I said “politicians,” not statesmen. Barack Obama is no George Washington or Winston Churchill. Or even a Ben-Gurion.