Obscene Profits? What About the Clintons?

"My plan? Eight years in the White House, a library, a few lousy books, hundreds of expensive speeches, big deals with the UAE....easy!!"


It is easy to see why the Clintons were so slow in releasing their income tax returns. Now that they have been released, we know that Bill and Hillary have turned a nice income of some 109 million dollars since 2000. And we should condemn the oil companies for their obscene profits?

Of that 109 million, almost half came from Bill's speaking appearances, some 51.8 million paid by various groups to listen to him tell them a bunch of BS. Book deals also brought in millions, a joke in itself, but that's the market. The books sell-I don't know why-but they do.

Taxes paid were apparently in order-some 31% plus about 10 million given to charity, including, apparently, free speeches "donated" by Bill. That's charity? Are they actually claiming those? Well, this is the same pair that wrote off Bill's donations of his old underwear to Goodwill or somebody like that.

All this coincided with Hillary's latest campaign promise to install a "Poverty Czar", a cabinet-level position that would report to her every day what he/she was doing to eliminate poverty in America. (That 109 million might come in handy.) Obviously, the czar will be figuring out ways to redistribute income from those who earn it. While that won't hurt the Clintons, it will effect everyday folks like me.

Honestly, I have no objection to the Clintons making an honest buck-even 109 million of them. That is part of our free market system, although it does strike me as unseemly for former presidents (not just Clinton) to cash in on their public service. If it is legally earned, I am ok with it. (Actually, I am far from convinced that all the Clintons' money is legal, but that is another story.) Yet, doesn't this make one wince when we hear Hillary condemning CEOs and corporations for all their "obscene profits" and complaining about the "income gap" in America? A little hypocritical, perhaps?

Another big source of income is represented by big business deals. It has been reported that the Clintons have important business connections with the Government of the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Strictly legit, perhaps, but it would be nice if the mainstream news media, with all their investigative resources, were to look into those connections. (Well, I can dream can't I?)

Even if every penny the Clintons have made since leaving office is legitimite, doesn't it strike you as odd that these are the people supposedly looking out for the "little guy"? True, Washington is full of opportunists like the Clintons, but since Bill and Hillary were known to be in financial difficulty when they arrived in the White House, this sure illustrates that something is wrong in our political system.

Perhaps, even obscene.