President Obama did not take enough of your tax dollars while he was in office, so he has decided to give himself a substantial raise once he leaves the Oval Office.
The Congressional Research Service (CRS) released a report last Wednesday that said that the President’s budget request for Fiscal Year (FY) 2017 calls for an 18 percent raise of the Former Presidents Act.
According to the report:
The Former Presidents Act (FPA; 3 U.S.C. §102 note) was enacted to “maintain the dignity” of the Office of the President. The act provides the former President—and his or her spouse—certain benefits to help him respond to post-presidency mail and speaking requests, among other informal public duties often required of a former President. Prior to enactment of the FPA in 1958, former Presidents leaving office received no pension or other federal assistance. The FPA charges the General Services Administration (GSA) with providing former U.S. Presidents a pension, support staff, office support, travel funds, and mailing privileges.
While it's not uncommon for the pensions of former presidents to go up year to year, the raise Obama is calling for is staggering.
The federal government increased the FPA pension budget by $25,000 between FY2015 and FY2016. The budget included a $2,000/year pension raise, increasing a former president's pension amount from $203,700/year to $205,700/year (just under a one-percent raise). Multiplied by each living former president, this annual pension raise made up about 32 percent of the additional $25,000 put into the FPA budget.
The increased budget also included additional funding for amenities like travel and security details.
But now, President Obama is calling for an additional $588,000 to be added to the FPA budget for FY2017 (the year he leaves office). If the presidential pension amount is increased by the same ratio as it was in FY2016, this means each president will receive an $37,632 raise to their pension, taking it from $205,700/year to $243,332/year.
Who knows? Obama may carve out even more for himself. Remember, liberals and socialists don’t mind spending money…as long as it’s not their own.