How much did Bush II return of his salary? I look forward to the response.
RSGsays
It’s like the CEO who gives up his bonus for the year in order to show solidarity for the rest of the workers who took pay cuts and shareholders who are facing stock price declines—yet keeps the usual salary, the housing allowance, the corporate jet use, the golden parachute, and the retirement package. But I guess shared sacrifice is in the eye of the beholder…
Sean Asays
#1: “How much did Bush II return of his salary? I look forward to the response.”
GWBush cut the taxes of every taxpaying American and throughout the majority of his eight years in office, the country saw unemployment at about 5% (also known as, full employment). He didn’t raise our taxes and lecture us about ‘shared sacrifice’ while simultaneously (and very publicly) using our money to live a spare-no-expense, extravagant lifestyle where no luxury is too grand and no whim is left unfulfilled. He also didn’t preside over a GOP-majority Senate that refused to pass a budget for four years, and he didn’t ignore the statutory deadline to submit his own budget proposal three years in a row (the White House has assured us that this year’s budget is in the mail and will arrive on April 10th, 65 days late).
Vince, thank you for reminding us what a gigantic, steaming, gag-inducing pile of EPIC FAIL you are.
Six years on, and the drones are still screaming “But BUSH!” How pathetic is that?
What does Obama need with a salary any way? His housing, clothing, food, his celebrity parties with Beyonce and Justin Timberlake, his travel in AF1/helicopters/massive motorcades, his luxury vacations, his golf outings, his wife’s luxury vacations, his daughter’s transportation… he doesn’t pay for any of that out of his salary. You and I do.
acethepugsays
Vince — well done! Like a proper Obamabot, you’ve shifted the goalposts and not addressed the letter OR the spirit of the post.
Here’s a “b-b-b-but Bush!” question for you: Why did Obama call raising the Debt Ceiling unpatriotic when it was GW Bush asking for it, when he himself as President has done so?
I eagerly await an actual reply, which we both know I will never get.
Well, ace, you see, Bush’s (much, much smaller) deficits were *Bad* (“unpatriotic” said Obama) because they occurred when the economy was healthy, and were only caused because Bush cut taxes for the rich and started two wars.
*But* they will also tell you Bush destroyed the economy and Obama needs to run massive deficits because *everyone* knows you have to increase Government spending in a recession, you guys.
*Also* they will tell you in the same breath Obama’s economy is recovering nicely, Obama “ended” (the more accurate word is “lost”), and raised taxes on the rich.
And if you ask them why deficits are still massive when the economy is supposedly recovering, the wars have ended, and taxes have been increased on the rich, they’ll say “Bush.”
Yes, you do have to be either completely insane or utterly stupid or both to be an Obama supporter.
Ted B. (Charging Rhino)says
Obama “returns” $20,000 to the Treasury, and spends $1-million-plus flying Himself and his entourage to Colorado for a stunt Photo-op. Oh, and he attended over FOUR expensive legal political bribery fund-raising dinners.
Nothing he said could not have been said from the WH Briefing Room….or the Rose Garden.
ILoveCapitalismsays
Six years on, and the drones are still screaming “But BUSH!” How pathetic is that?
Very!
And as I noted yesterday, Defense Dept. leadership thought of this move first. They got good press for it. Now Obama is there, to lead from behind as usual.
And, so far as I know at this time, schoolkids still can’t go on White House tours. He’s still holding them hostage. If Mrs. Obama gave up just one of her annual multi-million taxpayer-funded junkets, there would be money for the tours. Or, the Obamas could accept Trump’s offer of donations to pay for the tours. I guess holding schoolkids’ education hostage is still more important to the Obamas.
I’ve seen a word to describe Obama’s move, “Magnanimosity.” It notes the animosity underneath the calculated pose of magnanimity.
ILoveCapitalismsays
Obama “returns” $20,000
I believe 5% of 250k would be 12,500.
ILoveCapitalismsays
Sorry, I’m behind the times: 5% of 400k is indeed 20k. Then again – the cut is only retroactive to March 1, i.e. about half the fiscal year, so back to the 10k neighborhood.
Hey, speaking of staying with the times, shouldn’t certain people want to know how much ROMNEY gives of his salary to charity each year?
heliotropesays
Vince,
It occurs to me that if George Bush kept 5% of his salary in his greedy little ChimpMonkeyHitler hands, that he stills earns some little recognition you might begrudge him for this.
Even the hostile lefties at Harvard and at Scientific American and the rabid Obama White House mouthpiece Politico are finding it difficult to totally blame bush for being the father of all stupidity and evil. They attempt to damn through faint praise, but they can not escape the truth entirely.
And the drones will cry “Bush took vacations, too.”
Let’s deconstruct that.
The Obamas vacation in Hawaii, Martha’s Vineyard, Aspen, the Spanish Riviera, and luxury golf resorts around the world.
Bush “vacationed” in Crawford, Texas … at his ranch. Since when is going to your own house a “vacation?” It’s like saying I take a “vacation” every time I drive home from work.
Again, though, this is the mindset with which we are dealing.
You all are fools if you think Vince’s mind has been changed by facts, rational explanation, or logic.
Obama has black skin, is a Democrat, pretends to support gay-sex marriage, bashes Christians, and says Vince should get a free phone, free health insurance, welfare and disability checks so he doesn’t have to work, and an adjusted mortgage and food stamps so he doesn’t have to pay.
And with that, the thought centers of Vince, Sonicfrog, rusty, concern-troll mike, JPerry2006, Passing Gas, Another_Jeremy, and over 50% of the voting population shut off.
Anything that comes out of their mouth going forward is a rationalization. They are not about to say that the reason they want Obama in charge and loathed Bush was because Obama gives them free stuff and Bush didn’t. They are certainly not going to acknowledge that they will never hold the Obama Party to the same standards that they did Republicans, and they would have a mental meltdown if they were to actually publicly admit that Obama’s black skin makes him perfect in their eyes.
Hence their shrieking about what Bush did or didn’t do, or how awful Republicans are. They can’t do anything else. They are stalling, or worse, trying to manipulate us into changing our behavior by exploiting the fact that conservatives DO have standards, objectivity, and altruism.
This, again, is a crucial mistake conservatives make in wasting our time treating liberals as if they were thinking people. They are not. They are selfish, lazy, childish brats who think the world owes them a living and intend to use the power of government and our own decency into compelling us to give it to them. Everything they say should be treated as if it is coming out of the mouth of a malicious child who is trying to tantrum his parents into allowing him to run the household.
“Fools”? Did you even read the comments in this thread? They all disagreed with me.
Neptunesays
Frankly, I don’t really care where the presidents vacation. The president never really gets a “vacation” in the same way most/many of us do. I don’t begrudge Obama his and I didn’t begrudge Bush’s either. The whole vacation business is such an empty argument IMHO.
The graph on that site, while amusing, is kind of a useless comparison. Well, the rightmost bar anyway. The two on the left were pretty funny. The right bar could be the same for G.W. Bush, Clinton, G.H.W. Bush, Reagan, etc. We spend an enormous amount on our presidents outside of their salaries. I would be very interested to see a comparison of those dollars over the years and different administrations. It should rightly be part of the analysis of Federal spending, though I imagine in the big picture it’s probably peanuts compared to so many other federal budget boondoggles.
ILoveCapitalismsays
The right bar could be the same for G.W. Bush,
I’d like to see that claim proven. My impression is that the Obamas go on vacations which are, on average, noticeably more lavish than the Bushes did (even after, say, adjusting the numbers for inflation). That’s just an impression, I’m not offering any proof here either, only saying that it would be cool if somebody did.
“Fools”? Did you even read the comments in this thread? They all disagreed with me.
Comment by Vince Smetana — April 4, 2013 @ 1:58 pm – April 4, 2013
Yes, they did.
And they did so bringing facts and logic and rational thought.
And as you make clear, not a bit of it penetrated your racist and selfish skull.
Hence my statement that they are fools if they believe that your mind can be changed by facts, reason, or logic.
RSGsays
My impression is that the Obamas go on vacations which are, on average, noticeably more lavish than the Bushes did (even after, say, adjusting the numbers for inflation).
I don’t think it’s just your impression, since, as V The K has said, George W Bush mostly “vacationed” at his own ranch in Texas. It also depends on what the definition of ‘vacation’ is. Does going to Paris for an official function and later shopping & dining on the Avenue des Champs-Élysées count as an official visit or a vacation?
Also, how many times has the 44th president and his household taken the jet-set equivalent of separate cars to their vacation destinations? How many times did the 43rd president and his household?
[Excluding trips made to destinations by the household which did not include the president, of which the Obamas, GW Bushes, and Clintons all participated in.]
Ted B. (Charging Rhino)says
The Obamas vacation in Hawaii, Martha’s Vineyard, Aspen, the Spanish Riviera, and luxury golf resorts around the world.
Bush “vacationed” in Crawford, Texas … at his ranch.
Add to that that the Bush ranch was a true “western White House” well-equipped with secure tele-conferencing and meeting and guest space so the POTUS could conduct business effectively while in-residence, meet visiting citizens, officials and dignitaries. …And no expensive hotel bills or estate-rentals for the Imperial Couple and Spawn.
Oh I don’t think Vince could be taught. Rather I think the purpose of providing facts is for others to read, and become enlightened.
ILoveCapitalismsays
They are selfish, lazy, childish brats who think the world owes them a living and intend to use the power of government and our own decency into compelling us to give it to them. Everything they say should be treated as if it is coming out of the mouth of a malicious child who is trying to tantrum his parents into allowing him to run the household.
Just replace the leading “They” with “Some” or “Many”, and it’s one of the best summations of the committed or hard-core lefty’s character that I’ve ever read.
For someone who got elected by extending giveaways to those who could flim-flam their way into seeming “needy”, he surely is hell bent on making everyone equally poor. Then what?
His $12,500 reduction wouldn’t even pay my taxes for last year.
I cannot retire because I cannot afford the “Affordable Health Care” of Pelosicare, yet so many of his supporters have never worked and voted often in the same election.
Meanwhile, kids in a private high school cannot even tell time on a regular clock and don’t know how to write. What is going on? I think I was born 15 years too late.
How much did Bush II return of his salary? I look forward to the response.
It’s like the CEO who gives up his bonus for the year in order to show solidarity for the rest of the workers who took pay cuts and shareholders who are facing stock price declines—yet keeps the usual salary, the housing allowance, the corporate jet use, the golden parachute, and the retirement package. But I guess shared sacrifice is in the eye of the beholder…
#1: “How much did Bush II return of his salary? I look forward to the response.”
GWBush cut the taxes of every taxpaying American and throughout the majority of his eight years in office, the country saw unemployment at about 5% (also known as, full employment). He didn’t raise our taxes and lecture us about ‘shared sacrifice’ while simultaneously (and very publicly) using our money to live a spare-no-expense, extravagant lifestyle where no luxury is too grand and no whim is left unfulfilled. He also didn’t preside over a GOP-majority Senate that refused to pass a budget for four years, and he didn’t ignore the statutory deadline to submit his own budget proposal three years in a row (the White House has assured us that this year’s budget is in the mail and will arrive on April 10th, 65 days late).
Vince, thank you for reminding us what a gigantic, steaming, gag-inducing pile of EPIC FAIL you are.
Six years on, and the drones are still screaming “But BUSH!” How pathetic is that?
What does Obama need with a salary any way? His housing, clothing, food, his celebrity parties with Beyonce and Justin Timberlake, his travel in AF1/helicopters/massive motorcades, his luxury vacations, his golf outings, his wife’s luxury vacations, his daughter’s transportation… he doesn’t pay for any of that out of his salary. You and I do.
Vince — well done! Like a proper Obamabot, you’ve shifted the goalposts and not addressed the letter OR the spirit of the post.
Here’s a “b-b-b-but Bush!” question for you: Why did Obama call raising the Debt Ceiling unpatriotic when it was GW Bush asking for it, when he himself as President has done so?
I eagerly await an actual reply, which we both know I will never get.
Partisan shill …
Well, ace, you see, Bush’s (much, much smaller) deficits were *Bad* (“unpatriotic” said Obama) because they occurred when the economy was healthy, and were only caused because Bush cut taxes for the rich and started two wars.
*But* they will also tell you Bush destroyed the economy and Obama needs to run massive deficits because *everyone* knows you have to increase Government spending in a recession, you guys.
*Also* they will tell you in the same breath Obama’s economy is recovering nicely, Obama “ended” (the more accurate word is “lost”), and raised taxes on the rich.
And if you ask them why deficits are still massive when the economy is supposedly recovering, the wars have ended, and taxes have been increased on the rich, they’ll say “Bush.”
Yes, you do have to be either completely insane or utterly stupid or both to be an Obama supporter.
Obama “returns” $20,000 to the Treasury, and spends $1-million-plus flying Himself and his entourage to Colorado for a stunt Photo-op. Oh, and he attended over FOUR expensive
legal political briberyfund-raising dinners.Nothing he said could not have been said from the WH Briefing Room….or the Rose Garden.
Very!
And as I noted yesterday, Defense Dept. leadership thought of this move first. They got good press for it. Now Obama is there, to lead from behind as usual.
And, so far as I know at this time, schoolkids still can’t go on White House tours. He’s still holding them hostage. If Mrs. Obama gave up just one of her annual multi-million taxpayer-funded junkets, there would be money for the tours. Or, the Obamas could accept Trump’s offer of donations to pay for the tours. I guess holding schoolkids’ education hostage is still more important to the Obamas.
I’ve seen a word to describe Obama’s move, “Magnanimosity.” It notes the animosity underneath the calculated pose of magnanimity.
I believe 5% of 250k would be 12,500.
Sorry, I’m behind the times: 5% of 400k is indeed 20k. Then again – the cut is only retroactive to March 1, i.e. about half the fiscal year, so back to the 10k neighborhood.
Hey, speaking of staying with the times, shouldn’t certain people want to know how much ROMNEY gives of his salary to charity each year?
Vince,
It occurs to me that if George Bush kept 5% of his salary in his greedy little ChimpMonkeyHitler hands, that he stills earns some little recognition you might begrudge him for this.
Even the hostile lefties at Harvard and at Scientific American and the rabid Obama White House mouthpiece Politico are finding it difficult to totally blame bush for being the father of all stupidity and evil. They attempt to damn through faint praise, but they can not escape the truth entirely.
And the drones will cry “Bush took vacations, too.”
Let’s deconstruct that.
The Obamas vacation in Hawaii, Martha’s Vineyard, Aspen, the Spanish Riviera, and luxury golf resorts around the world.
Bush “vacationed” in Crawford, Texas … at his ranch. Since when is going to your own house a “vacation?” It’s like saying I take a “vacation” every time I drive home from work.
Wow, last time I saw an adult male spanked as bad as Vince just was, the lighting was a lot dimmer and there was an Enigma CD playing.
Again, though, this is the mindset with which we are dealing.
You all are fools if you think Vince’s mind has been changed by facts, rational explanation, or logic.
Obama has black skin, is a Democrat, pretends to support gay-sex marriage, bashes Christians, and says Vince should get a free phone, free health insurance, welfare and disability checks so he doesn’t have to work, and an adjusted mortgage and food stamps so he doesn’t have to pay.
And with that, the thought centers of Vince, Sonicfrog, rusty, concern-troll mike, JPerry2006, Passing Gas, Another_Jeremy, and over 50% of the voting population shut off.
Anything that comes out of their mouth going forward is a rationalization. They are not about to say that the reason they want Obama in charge and loathed Bush was because Obama gives them free stuff and Bush didn’t. They are certainly not going to acknowledge that they will never hold the Obama Party to the same standards that they did Republicans, and they would have a mental meltdown if they were to actually publicly admit that Obama’s black skin makes him perfect in their eyes.
Hence their shrieking about what Bush did or didn’t do, or how awful Republicans are. They can’t do anything else. They are stalling, or worse, trying to manipulate us into changing our behavior by exploiting the fact that conservatives DO have standards, objectivity, and altruism.
This, again, is a crucial mistake conservatives make in wasting our time treating liberals as if they were thinking people. They are not. They are selfish, lazy, childish brats who think the world owes them a living and intend to use the power of government and our own decency into compelling us to give it to them. Everything they say should be treated as if it is coming out of the mouth of a malicious child who is trying to tantrum his parents into allowing him to run the household.
ND30> 50%? Don’t you mean 47%? Whoops.
“Fools”? Did you even read the comments in this thread? They all disagreed with me.
Frankly, I don’t really care where the presidents vacation. The president never really gets a “vacation” in the same way most/many of us do. I don’t begrudge Obama his and I didn’t begrudge Bush’s either. The whole vacation business is such an empty argument IMHO.
The graph on that site, while amusing, is kind of a useless comparison. Well, the rightmost bar anyway. The two on the left were pretty funny. The right bar could be the same for G.W. Bush, Clinton, G.H.W. Bush, Reagan, etc. We spend an enormous amount on our presidents outside of their salaries. I would be very interested to see a comparison of those dollars over the years and different administrations. It should rightly be part of the analysis of Federal spending, though I imagine in the big picture it’s probably peanuts compared to so many other federal budget boondoggles.
I’d like to see that claim proven. My impression is that the Obamas go on vacations which are, on average, noticeably more lavish than the Bushes did (even after, say, adjusting the numbers for inflation). That’s just an impression, I’m not offering any proof here either, only saying that it would be cool if somebody did.
NDT, you can’t reason with people who can’t reason.
You can, however, mock them mercilessly.
Yes, they did.
And they did so bringing facts and logic and rational thought.
And as you make clear, not a bit of it penetrated your racist and selfish skull.
Hence my statement that they are fools if they believe that your mind can be changed by facts, reason, or logic.
I don’t think it’s just your impression, since, as V The K has said, George W Bush mostly “vacationed” at his own ranch in Texas. It also depends on what the definition of ‘vacation’ is. Does going to Paris for an official function and later shopping & dining on the Avenue des Champs-Élysées count as an official visit or a vacation?
Also, how many times has the 44th president and his household taken the jet-set equivalent of separate cars to their vacation destinations? How many times did the 43rd president and his household?
[Excluding trips made to destinations by the household which did not include the president, of which the Obamas, GW Bushes, and Clintons all participated in.]
Add to that that the Bush ranch was a true “western White House” well-equipped with secure tele-conferencing and meeting and guest space so the POTUS could conduct business effectively while in-residence, meet visiting citizens, officials and dignitaries. …And no expensive hotel bills or estate-rentals for the Imperial Couple and Spawn.
Oh I don’t think Vince could be taught. Rather I think the purpose of providing facts is for others to read, and become enlightened.
Just replace the leading “They” with “Some” or “Many”, and it’s one of the best summations of the committed or hard-core lefty’s character that I’ve ever read.
The Preezy followed up on his pay cut by flying in his taxpayer-provided helicopter to a lavish fundraiser to hobnob with wealthy cronies.
http://twitchy.com/2013/04/04/obama-at-atherton-fundraiser-lol-guys-this-whole-town-can-afford-to-pay-higher-taxes/
For someone who got elected by extending giveaways to those who could flim-flam their way into seeming “needy”, he surely is hell bent on making everyone equally poor. Then what?
His $12,500 reduction wouldn’t even pay my taxes for last year.
I cannot retire because I cannot afford the “Affordable Health Care” of Pelosicare, yet so many of his supporters have never worked and voted often in the same election.
Meanwhile, kids in a private high school cannot even tell time on a regular clock and don’t know how to write. What is going on? I think I was born 15 years too late.