He’s had a six-year stretch now where basically he’s been going 24/7 with relatively modest pay. I think it’s natural for someone like Robert to want to step back for a second to reflect, retool and that, as a consequence, brings about both challenges and opportunities for the White House.
I won't comment on whether or not his job has been as hectic as PresBo says... I have no reason to doubt it. But to call $172,200 a year a "modest salary" is ridiculous. Correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't PresBo claim that any person earning $200,000 or more is "rich?" How can we go from a "modest salary" to "filthy rich" in just $27,800?
There's a logical disconnect, there.
But you see, to PresBo, surrounded by people who are worth millions, that $172,000 probably does look pretty modest. It's a sense of entitlement that they have. Since, after all, they are serving our nation by running it, they deserve all the perks they can wring out of a grateful peasantry. The politicians are, at least in their own view, America's version of royalty. And for royalty, is $172,200 really that much?
Personally, this is an attitude that has to GO. Those working for the government should not be making more money than 92% of Americans... as did Gibbs.
Right on!
ReplyDeleteWill cross post this one...
Norm
As always, feel free!
ReplyDeleteA fair criticism I think of what the WH Press Secretary makes, but where were the comments when Scott McClellan or Tony Snow were making comparable salaries? It seems to me you are letting your ideological point of view influence your criticism. Even if the statements were quantified to say, "I don't think they should have gotten paid that much either", the past tense still quantifies the fact that in the 8 years of the Bush Presidency I never heard anyone criticize Tony Snow for making $166,000 per year or any other press secretary for that matter.
ReplyDeleteI worked with a Col back in the 1990s. He'd owned a fairly decent house up around the DC region that he'd bought for $200k back in the early 1980s when he was here. He admitted....it was 30 years old but he'd kept it up to date.
ReplyDeleteSo as the Clinton period started up...the Col was stationed with me in Tucson. He'd decided to put the house up for sale and he wanted almost $400k (the current going rate would be nearer to $800k for the same house). $500k was a fair amount of money in 1992.
So a real estate agent brings an Arkansas player out to the house. The guy had been one of the 50-odd folks that the Clintons had persuaded to come up and be part of their DC entourage (paid government jobs). The guy and his wife were to be shown five or six houses for the day and this was the top of the line house....and they were going down from this point. The couple were in absolute shock when they viewed the house and were told the price. They'd come to DC with the idea of buying a place but they were figuring Arkansas prices....maybe $200k max. They weren't prepared to anything beyond $250k.
They eventually bought the Col's house (he never went down on his price) but they were paying a whale of a mortgage and I suspect that he sold the property within five years because it was just too much for the average government worker to keep up the payments.
The problem here in DC....is that $100k a year would barely be enough to live a good lifestyle, and pay on most mortgages unless you live 25 miles south of DC. My associate in the office owns a house valued at $450k and the property it rests on is valued at $900k. His property taxes are enormous.
I can understand this reality of DC and why they complain about the cost of living. Until you've seen what $250k will buy you for a house....you'd just laugh and head south to Richmond.
Tal, I wasn't running my blog at that time, but I criticize without regard to ideology. Ask GOP-ers who wanted me to shut about how bad a President Bush was...
ReplyDeleteThat said, the main thrust of the piece was the conflict caused by Obama's statement. Gibb's salary was modest, but a $200,000 salary makes you filthy rich?
As to the Gibb's salary and cost of living in the area, most of the folks don't actually LIVE in DC. Surrounding areas are MUCH more affordable, even if they require a longer commute. MANY people work in DC every day earning FAR less than $172,000.
In fact, a quick search online showed me that the average salary in DC is in the $80 range... HALF of Gibb's "modest" salary. Nationwide, Gibb's salary puts him in the top 8% of earners.
By the way...
ReplyDeleteI've used a few of your posts on the radio...
Actually done one from Cape Cod where I co-host the radio show via telephone...
...currently back in good ole Alabamy!
Keep up the good work.
Norm
Never heard ANYONE and saw only bland news stories that told how much they made.
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely feel free to use whatever I post... if I didn't want people to read and use this stuff, I wouldn't post it.
ReplyDeleteWhatever, Tal. But please remember that just because others may have been treated differently doesn't mean that current perpetrators get a pass. The criticisms I leveled are valid, regardless of Tony Snow et al.
ReplyDelete$172k is a big salary, whether by national standards or by the standards of Washington DC. They view salaries like this as their due, because they hold political power. Finally, PresBo's hyprocrisy doesn't make mathematical sense, because if a $200k salary is rich, then a $172k salary isn't "modest."
That's a summary of what I said in the post. Where am I wrong?
I conceded your original point about the salary. I just feel like this criticism is stemming from a dislike of the President and the fact that I never heard anyone criticize previous press secretaries with comparable salaries is evidence of that. This is very much how I feel about the "tea party." Its hard to put a finger on such an incongruent group, but I didn't see them marching in the streets when the largest government program since Medicare was passed under the Bush Administration and a GOP Congress. So, they may have some valid points, but the lack of anger at the time points to some other reason they are so pissed off.
ReplyDeleteNope, my criticism is based upon the actions and words of those in DC. Period.
ReplyDeleteAs to the Tea Party, I fundamentally disagree. Everybody has a line beyond which they won't go willingly. We reached that line under PresBo, with the bailouts, ObamaCare (that was a big one), and the massive spending spree that increased our national debt by 60%, rising $5.2 TRILLION in four short years.
Look at it as the straw that broke the camel's back.
As to people speaking against things during the Bush years, I constantly talked about how Bush was behaving like a "spend-everything-we-can" Democrat. Outside of his religious views, there wasn't much conservative about Bush... and I said so. Repeatedly.
The criticism was there, Tal. I'm sorry that you missed it.
Oh, sorry. In my list, I neglected to include the massive non-stimulus pork fest, the seizure of private companies (GM), and the massive overuse of "Czar's"... people who wield power and SHOULD BE approved by the Senate, but aren't.
ReplyDeleteRemember, America isn't beginning to solidify just against PresBo, but also against the agenda being pushed by his cronies in Congress.