Will Obama take a salary of $1 per year?

Originally posted by burdman30ott6

Originally posted by blowfishdl

Originally posted by herojoe
The guy's obsessed with budget cuts.

Why not start at the top?

He's talking about the multi-million dollar a year C.E.O.'s that receive this money through very evil loans and human manipulation.

Very evil loans and manipulation you say? Kind of like the very evil loans and manipulation both main preisdential candidates voted in favor of when they supported the bailout using our taxpayer dollars? Seems like a mixed message of sorts. "I voted for giving them the money before I railed publically against it."

Politics always steals money from the tax-payer. It is a much different process however to go to the poor and offer them 4,000 with a 25% monthly interest rate when they are down on their luck.

reply to post by Benevolent Heretic


Well said. Potus deserves the pay just for the risk to life and limb to self (and family) alone. There is no way to make yourself a bigger target. That's not even taking into account the demanding nature of the job itself. If anything, Potus deserves a raise. Well, unless your last name is Bush

Originally posted by blowfishdl
reply to post by burdman30ott6

 

Yes good sir, however 400,000 is mere pocket change. It's not worth the presidential cycle, nor the time in the Senate if you are merely looking for this small amount of money.

The risk of assassination is too great. He could make just as much (or more) being a lawyer.

1. I have a greater risk of being killed than the president does for many reasons.
a) I drive myself around sans police escort & personal trained chauffer
b) I do not have armed secret servicemen following me around willing to take the bullet for me all day.
c) I actually interact with the reality of humanity on a daily basis when I am in public... when was the last time Obama spent time around people who weren't there for the express purpose of spending time with Obama?
d) My home isn't sheltered, guarded, or setback from public access by a block and a half to ensure my personal safety.
WHERE'S MY $400,000 "mere pocket change?" *checks pockets* Oh, look! 2 quarters, a dime, and 6 pennies! Slightly less than $400K, hmmm...

2. If he could have made much more being a lawyer, then why didn't he? Those who can, do... those who can't do, teach. Obama was a Constitutional law professor who dabbled in part time practice. Not exactly Perry Mason, if you follow what I'm saying.

3. I'm glad to know that his ridiculously short stint in the senate wasn't worth the time to get the president's salary in your opinion. I'm sure that men like John McCain and Joe Biden who have devoted their entire lives to the senate while trying to reach the highest office in the land might take exception with your opinion, however.

Does the salary include taking bribes from the rich and powerful? Obama's going to be a rich man when he leaves office i think...

reply to post by burdman30ott6


To the president's office where they are working towards a trillion dollar bailout... $400k can be found on the ground. Besides the presidential office, Obama is a millionare.

As to your comment on Joe Biden and John McCain upset that their long duty as Senators has not lead to being president - tough crap! Life isn't fair, and just because you made it to Senator does not mean you will ever become president regardless of how high you set the bar.

reply to post by GoalPoster


I don't think he was referring to "all" executives, just the ones who made extremely poor business decisions that led to the layoff of their own workers.

For your analogy to be relevant under this scenario Obama would have had to have appointed the Fed Chiefs for the last ten years or so, and the Treasury Secretary, and been among those who voted for these clowns to deserve to be flung into this category.

I get that you don't like him, but he hasn't done anything yet to deserve the enmity.

In Canada we had this come up last year from some people in government and it was shot right down. To have someone willing to work for a dollar on such a important job is the same as him paying to do the job and only rich people who can afford to not be paid for their work will be able to make it into the government.

So unless you want it so only the rich few can ever hope to make it into government from mayor to president to sheriff you will not think this is not a good idea.

This would move the classes even farther apart having to be of a class or to be so high in government positions.

The man has worked hard all his life to be where he is and it would be like a almost socialist act of the president to do that.

The man should happily take all he is owed every week and be happy he did all he could to make it in this world and help his family.

If anything he should demand over time and danger pay from all that bush has set up for him to deal with.

$1 a year to be the most powerful man on the planet?

Come on think about what you are saying.

First of all. A normal person can't afford to be in public office at that price.

Secondly at that price only the rich elite can be in office.
Think about that. Most of us are complaining that the rich get richer. This would assure that the rich got richer. Since the rich would be making all the rules. Not like they are now btw. So I guess it wouldn't be much of a difference.
oh well.

Originally posted by grey580
$1 a year to be the most powerful man on the planet?

Come on think about what you are saying.

First of all. A normal person can't afford to be in public office at that price.

Secondly at that price only the rich elite can be in office.
Think about that. Most of us are complaining that the rich get richer. This would assure that the rich got richer. Since the rich would be making all the rules. Not like they are now btw. So I guess it wouldn't be much of a difference.
oh well.

I think the threadstarter is bitter.

He is saying, "I am stuck here in my mom's basement, how can I get back at these Obama supporters who whooped my behind with ideas like retreating and raising taxes and giving out money to people who don't pay taxes"

Then he makes this thread. I think he is pretty pathetic. To be honest.

Why would Obama work for a dollar? Oh, because he's black....? He should work for a dollar because he isn't worthy of the full salary?

Why? Because he's black we throw out the traditions?

This is just like the other threads which have finally cooled down about Obama needs to show them his birth certificate and his license because they think the guy is pretending to be an American....

This is all because, I'm afraid, Obama is a black man.

What a scared world we live in. What a scared place ATS is.

reply to post by ConservativeJack



wooo man. that's harsh..... might be right. but still harsh. lol

reply to post by ConservativeJack


YOu've made some increadible assumptions.

I'm not bitter. Quite the opposite. While not a supporter of Obama, I'm not an ardent supporter of McCain or Republicans or Democrats in general. My political leanings are somewhat varied and dependent on the issues.

I've never put much past a quick thought as to who is president of the United States because to me, it is a figurehead position . . . despite being deemed the Leader of the Free World and all other such nonesense that comes along, he really pulls no strings, holds no real power and is merely a puppet of the party that got him/her elected.

All he is, really, is the coach of a rather vast team that is only as strong as the sum of its pieces.

I'm not in my mom's basement either rather I'm in the home that I own. I am what you'd consider 'middle aged' and pretty much 'average' 'middle class', all things considered.

I come from a racially diverse family . . . through adoption my immediate family's heritage is more varied than most and covers pretty much the most diverse racial spectrum you'd find under one roof, so trying to attribute my question to racial intolerance is, well, another assumption you make without basis or appropriate knowledge.

I toil daily as a Labour Relations Manager and have for the past five years observed first hand executive excess and executive responsibility.

When our organization of three facilities ran into it tough earlier this year, the COO took a pay cut to one dollar after requesting we find any and all cost savings . . . she put her money where her mouth is . . . the talk she gave to all of us senior managers was something very similar to what Obama said in his interview, which again lead to the QUESTION . . . would Obama drop his salary to one dollar not because he is black, not because he's christian, not because he's the antichrist, not because he is the messiah, not because of any of the other bizzare things I've read on these boards, rather simply and only because of his comments to the media.

So, attack me personally for my 'bitter thread' , make accusations of me being racially motivated, and take swipes at the very forum that allows you to post your opinion. It is your right, as it is your right to disagree with my question, and as it is my right to disagree with your opinions provided in your post.

It's really simple.

1. Get rid of the salary.

2. Only the aristos go for the job.

3. Most are well aligned.

4. Some are vampires and drink from weaker skin.

5. Salary done, $1 is done.

Originally posted by grey580
reply to post by ConservativeJack

 

wooo man. that's harsh..... might be right. but still harsh. lol

Harsh . . . yes.

Right . . . no.

His opinion . . . yes . . . and he's entitled to it. That's what makes these boards and this country so great . . . the right to have whatever opinion you like without being persecuted, ridiculed or wildly accused of anything for it.

I still wouldn't advocate that as a way to go especially not in public office.
You'd be limiting who could go into office to strictly the rich.

Someone with a house, insurance, mortgage, taxes and bills to pay can't afford to be president.

I'm not going to get into with you pal. You are out of line. You believe the President doesn't "make any decisions". Ugh, that's an incredible statement. Tell me, who does make the decisions? If not the President. It's guys like you that take it too far. Presidents don't make any decisions there is a cabinet of World Leaders that dictate his actions? Like the Mafia elders?

After World War II, America was the King of the hill. We didn't take orders from anybody then and we don't now.

Now, about how you are tolerant and this thread has nothing to do with race then what is this thread suppose to be about?

You tell me, what the heck is this thread is trying to say?

reply to post by nyk537


Yup, LIberals are great at "do as I say, not as I do". This is not more evident than where the Obama's are placing their children - in an exclusive Wash. D.C. school (Sidwell Friends - $40,000+ for both of them a year).
It's a free country - but the message it sends is not very positive. At times like this I think of the Norman Lear show "The Jeffersons" song "We're movin' on up to the east side...."

reply to post by GoalPoster


Politicians should never be payed in proportion to their contribution to society (they should be willing to make that sacrifice in order to take up the full responsibility of the job-if one wanted such a luxury, one could devote their full time to commerce as a regular citizen) but they must be provided with the leisurely life they deserve. It is much easier to pay them individually, instead of organizing all the different provisions to ensure that deserved quality of life. Individuals are fairly capable of dealing with a money income, and using it as they need; otherwise one would need a committee to account for all the expenses. That would be rather inefficient. So pay them the minimum salary so that they can continue to do what they do (supposedly this job should be one's greatest life's aspirations), and let Congress pay for their kids' education.

[edit on 26-11-2008 by cognoscente]

I'm going to take this opportunity to give you a handful of reasons why this man is easily worth $400k salary.


Books:
* The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream,(2006). Crown Publishers, Division of Random House, NY

* Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance, (1995). Time Books an imprint of Crown Publishers, Division of Random House, NY

* Change We Can Believe In: Barack Obama's Plan to Renew America's Promise, (2008). Three Rivers Press, an imprint of Crown Publishers, Division of Random House, NY

Obama won Best Spoken Word Album Grammy Awards for abridged audiobook versions of both of his books; for Dreams from My Father in February 2006 and for The Audacity of Hope in February 2008.[192]


Work Experience:

* 1983-1984 Writer/Researcher for Business International Corporation. Helped companies understand overseas markets in the “Financing Foreign Operations” service and wrote for the “Business International Money Report”

* 1984-1985 Community Organizer for New York Public Interest Research Group (PIRG), promoting personal, community, and government reform at City College in Harlem.

* 1985-1988 Director of the Developing Communities Project (DCP), a church-based community organization originally comprising eight Catholic parishes in Greater Roseland on Chicago's South Side. While director grew the DCP staff from 1 to 13 and their budget from $70,000 to $400,000.

* 1992 Led Chicago's Project Vote! push. This effort resulted in a record number of voter registrations, over 600,000 in Chicago. 1)

* 2008 Elected 44th President of the United States of America in a landslide election.


Teaching:

1993-2004 Visiting Law and Government Fellow, then Senior Lecturer, in Constitutional Law at the University of Chicago Law School. Taught courses on the due process and equal protection areas of constitutional law, on voting rights, and on racism and law. Helped develop a casebook on voting rights.


Law Practice:

* 1993-2002 Worked as an associate attorney with Davis, Miner, Barnhill & Galland. Represented non-profits and private individuals in urban development projects, voting rights cases, and wrongful firings. Filed major suit that forced the state of Illinois to enforce the Motor Voter Law and successfully argued a wrongful firing case before the U.S. 7th Circuit Court of Appeals.


Illinois Senate 1996-2004

* Chairman, Health and Human Services Committee where he voted against the Born Alive Infant Protection Act.
* Worked on bipartisan effort in Illinois to pass the broadest ethics-reform legislation in 25 years, and gained support for his successful bills reforming death penalty interrogations and ending racial profiling by police. Hesitantly worked with the Republican-led effort to reform welfare.
* Voted against tougher laws dealing with child molesters and rapists.


New York Times chart on Obama's legislative record in the Illinois Senate: Chart


Illinois Senate 2001:

* Senate Bill 1095, Born Alive Infant Protection Act

www.ilga.gov...

* Obama's “no” vote in the IL Senate Judiciary Committeehere, March 28, 2001

Obama vote against

* Transcript of Obama's verbal opposition to Born Alive on the IL Senate floor, March 30, 2001, pages 84-90

Senate Transcripts

* Obama's “present” vote on the IL Senate floor, March 30, 2001


United States Senate 2004-present Sworn in 1/4/2005:

* Member, Senate Foreign Relations Committee
* Chairman, Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on European Affairs
* Member, Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions
* Member, Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs
* Member, Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs
* Shares responsibility for the bipartisan Coburn-Obama Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006, requiring full online disclosure of all entities receiving federal funds, and the bipartisan Lugar-Obama Cooperative Proliferation Detection, Interdiction Assistance, and Conventional Threat Reduction Act of 2006, deepening non-proliferation work with WMD and including surface-to-air missiles, land mines, and other weapons that may be used by terrorists. Also worked with Coburn to end the abuse of no-bid contracts in the wake of disasters.


Sponsored Bill Statistics:

* Number of sponsored bills: 70
* Number of sponsored bills passed: 2

* Number of co-sponsored bills: 404
* Number of co-sponsored bills passed: 8

reply to post by cognoscente


He does not really need the money. At his level, it's not about money anymore.
This seems altruistic to me. The stress and pressures of the position are apparent to anyone. Compensation would be nice,but........Since when does public service (in the truest sense) require compensation? Isn't public service expected of all of us on a daily basis. Even daily activities keep society running. I do it all the time and do not get nor expect compensation. The difference between me and Obama is that he is already wealthy, and I am not.

[edit on 11/26/08 by scooterstrats]

reply to post by blowfishdl


Nice CV but that doesn't mean he deserves a $400,000 salary. Sure, if he were a private citizen, who should by the very nature of his position in society, fully devote himself to commerce and trade, then that salary would be appropriate. But as a politician, or a philosopher rather, he should be willing to sacrifice that for the greater good that he has chosen. It's not a job, it's a duty. A salary shouldn't be the main motivator for doing that job, as should have been the same when pursuing and applying for that job. If he does worse on a lower salary then he wasn't meant to even have this job in the first place. He should be granted all the luxuries he deserves in the white house out of the federal budget, and his kids should be sent to school with tax payer's money, but he shouldn't get some salary that is proportion to some notion "contributes so much to society so he should be equally rewarded". Fine if he were a private citizen, but not a politician, and especially not one with all the powers and responsibilities of public office. Public office is both an honorable duty and a life sentence. But it's a choice that shouldn't be rewarded with incentives of additional pay or growing salaries. If it happens to be that these politicians work harder for more pay, then all of our officials and representatives should be promptly replaced with competent people that are willing to sacrifice their normal life for this duty.

[edit on 26-11-2008 by cognoscente]