Who Makes the Big Bucks at the White House?

With the cost of living in the DC area, $100,000 a year is lousy…and considering Obama put a salary freeze on his staff but yet makes 4 times that as well as free rent/food/travel… well you be the judge..

The salaries paid Obama and his staff are those paid by the Bush Adminitration with no change and no increases. Not true with the big banks and stock market firms.

I love how obama says I am putting a freeze on his senior staff making more than 100,000 a year, and then behind closed doors says but everything we do the tax payers will pay for in the millions cause we( obama and senior staff) will not have to spend our own money. No wonder obama loves America, we are the cow and he is milking us for as much as he can get!

Honestly, shouldn’t the speechwriter be making the 400K? He’s the one with all the pretty lies that all the suckers voted for. Obama should be happy with room and board for his self and his extended family.

The hypocrisy is evident. Just like Hugo Chavez and Fidel Castro. Obama says he will freeze salaries at 100K and pays more to his inner circle. He hoodwinks the American people with lies while doing something else behind closed doors.
Typical narcissistic dictator.

I guess I’m not very smart. I looked at the whole list. The salaries seemed reasonable to me. For the president (any president, not just Obama) to deal with the range of problems presidents face, it doesn’t seem out of line to have fewer than five hundred support staff with salaries in a range of $30,000 to $172,000. I don’t see how anybody can live in Washington DC on the low-level salaries listed here.

As I don’t have time – wish someone else would total up the salaries – and tell us the average salary. Seems like it should have been included in the report. (sorry – went back to check before finishing the previous sentence then hit the post button too quickly)
Wonder if all these positions are really necessary?

The staffers of the House and Senate make 30-40k. Very difficult to live on in DC. But how much are all the czars making that Obama appointed bypassing any Congressional oversight and approval.
And of course he wouldn’t want to lay anyone off because he’d be adding to unemployment.

I have another idea Penny. Favreau should sit in the audience at a press conference, ask one of the planted questions, and then run up to the podium and answer it. This would rest Obama’s eyes after all that teleprompter reading.

this president is has lost more jobs than hoover. way to go.

Penny, we get it: You’re just jealous. The man whose boots you licked for 8 years wasn’t even smart enough to read so even hiring Favreau wouldn’t have helped him.

I hear Favreau is practicing speed-typing, so he can feed the teleprompter so Obama won’t have to come up with answers on his own.

They’ve scrapped the speed typing to teleprompter initiative. Much easier to plant/screen questions or call reporters the night before a press conference.

You just made my point by trying to make yours. I think that’s what happened. You were rambling a little bit. PS You forgot Glenn Beck.

Nice to see that all the Chicago insiders are being paid top dollar. Nepotism reigns…ask Mayor Daley, Michael Madigan, the Lipinskis, etc.

These are not outrageous salaries given the level of responsibility. As a matter of fact, they’re cheap.

They may have the same top salaries as Bush staffers but different caliber.

Do they pay taxes??????????

They don’t pre-screen questions at press conferences.
I’m surprised at how casual people are about lying.
There are plenty of things to disagree with about what Obama is doing… No need to be dishonest.

This president inherit between 8 to 8 & half % when he took office, so the unployment he has under his watch is about 1 to 1 & half %. We can only calculate since he took office.

Only in America could a week long look at Michael Jackson life get in the way of a bill that is going to last long after his death. I have been a long time viewer of ABC news, and have relied upon their journalist to give me a sense of what is going on with our America. This Cap and Trade bill needs to be FRONT news each night, so Americans see what it really is, and how much does it affects the average person living in America. I am asking you, ABC to look at this bill and explain to your viewers just who does it benefits. I can’t tell you how disappointing it is hear all the coverage of Michael Jackson, when in reality it does not matter to Americans what the hell happens to his estate. GIVE THIS BILL ALL THE AIRTIME THAT YOU HAVE GIVEN THE MICHAEL JACKSON STORY SO AMERICANS CAN REALLY DECIDE. I know that I’m only one voice, and for those of who read this pass it on, it really does matter. We need our voices heard.

Completely agree with this.
Posted by: Ryan C | Jul 2, 2009 2:21:20 PM
Whoa. Did I fall asleep and wake up in a different universe? (No comments, please!)

That is quite a setback for Rahm…after all, he made nearly $20 million on Wall St. in less than 2 yrs, without an MBA or law degree.
However, he escaped the President’s wrath about outrageous pay on Wall St and corp. America…
What hypocrites.

I can only hope that ABC pays attention to this, because I certainly do not trust the other networks, such as, CBS and NBC as they are certainly becoming a government run media center, and yes I do watch Fox News network. For some time I had refrained myself from watching their news, due to the fact I thought they were just way out there. But, I see that they are willing to ask the hard question that face Americans today from our politicians, and when you scrambling for words, lying right to our face, I wondering why doesn’t ABC do the same, go for their throats, and really hold them accountable, as to what they say and do. Stand Up ABC and do the right thing, rather than playing the political correct game. If you listen to people of America you will have to tool that can’t be stop, you’ll have our voice.

Darn, but there sure are a *lot* of folks who don’t recognize notions such as “the subject of this story is the salaries of each White House employee.” that’s no fun, just a bunch of numbers. So, let’s talk about MJ, cap-and-trade, Wall Street, Chicago cronies, spew hatred, blah blah blah. These sorts of things didn’t go on with Bush II? Clinton? Bush I? Reagan? Carter? Ford? Nixon? LBJ? JFK? Need I go on? The President makes 400K — peanuts; just did the math, and based on a population of 304,000,000, each dollar he receives is paid, collectively, by 760 Americans. That works out to just under 1316 hundredths of one cent, per person, per year. Real heavy burden. Besides, it’s the same as every other President has received since Congress last gave the President a pay hike some quite-a-few years back. Let’s look at it from another angle. At that salary, the President — any President on the 400K program — is on duty 24/7/365 (we can safely ignore leap years here). That means a 400K President makes just under $45.79/hour. True, that’s 24/7/365, but it still is a bargain-basement deal, all things considered. Even when a President goes on “vacation,” there are folks with him, especially intelligence and security folks. He still gets his breakfast intel report plus any hot news rolling in overnight that didn’t require waking him up. The anonymous guy with the nuclear football is ever present. So is a red phone. So is a hotline to the Kremlin (and, I imagine, to certain other capitals). Plus, he has to learn to deal with the fact that there’s every chance that some nutcase is trying to kill him, planning even while he, the President, is trying to eat his Wheaties between intelligence summaries, etc. I don’t begrudge ANY PResident his laughable salary. If I drew that hourly wage for a 40-hour week, my annual gross would be about $95,243. A darned good salary in much of America — but not everywhere (including Washington). Compare that to top executives; they’d laugh an offer of 400K right out the door. And they don’t have, oh, the nuclear football, for instance. They don’t have to keep filed at the backs of their minds the idea of “38 minutes” — said to be the max time an ICBM can reach the continental U.S. from anywhere on the planet. (Not much time to decide whether or not to make substantial swaths of the planet glow in the dark, is it?) I say all this not in defense of Obama, per se, but in defense of *whoever* is sitting in that particular hot seat. Then there’s “nepotism,” which some apparently genuinely believe Obama invented. Didn’t GW have some Texas buddies? How about Clinton’s Arkansas mob? Etc. etc. etc.? (Carter especially infamously, with his Georgia peanut farmers, bless his heart.) What boss *doesn’t* want people he/she knows and trusts around him or her? Then there are all the perks: free room and board in nice digs with a great kitchen, and a staff to do everything. Invented by Obama, to hear some people say it. I guess his predecesors had to send out for take-away. And maybe they didn’t *really* get to sleep at the White House — that was just for show-and-tell; they really stayed in the Motel 6 down the way. Please. Though I personally eventually became disenchanted with GW, I never begrudged him his salary and perks. Nor did I appreciate the exact same sort of attacks that his enemies launched against him, attacks based on prejudice and “my-mind’s-already-made-up; don’t-confuse-me-with-the-facts” stands. There are plenty of valid reasons to have a view different from the President — any President. As for a lot of the allegations of “behind closed doors,” I’m JEALOUS of all you people who have privileged inside information tracks, apparently right into the Oval Office, the West Wing, even the private quarters. Puh-leeeeze. *Besides,* the story’s about WH salaries — that’s all. As a good British cop would say, “Move along, move along; nothing to see here.”

“Looks like none of these people at the White House even come close. I guess $250,000 a year actually is a lot of money.”
Add in the actual costs of government perks (like free air travel, health care, cars and drivers etc.) and the salaries would rise.
Just like Obama’s $400,000/year salary doesn’t come close to the total cost of presidential perks like Air Force One, Camp David, living in the White House with 100′s of staff, health care, huge pension for life, etc…
I am technically rich but pay for my own air travel, vacations, house, utilities, private health care and cars. Comparing high level government salaries to the private sector is comparing apples to oranges.

Danita, I am telling you the difference between salaries and salaries with governmental perk. These governmental perks allow high level government employees to live like rock stars on lower than rock star salaries.
If you cannot understand that, just say so. I will try to explain it to you again. If you are jealous of these governmental employees’ perks that are not counted as income, so be it.
BTW ~ Those who earn more than $250,000 are not necessarily rich. Many are your neighbors and friends who own small businesses and who have family, charitable and financial obligations, including the very heavy responsibility of employing some of their fellow Americans.

Of COURSE Favreau makes the most…. it’s darn taxing coming up with the **** Obama channels. I’m sure it’s difficult (but not, apparently, impossible) for him to find time in his busy schedule for his keggers…I mean, after all, he only got to grope Hillary for the camera ONCE. Poor, poor overworked BOY.

“And no, please, I’m not going to feel sorry for people earning over $250,000 per year.”
Who asked you to FEEL anything either way about certain earners. I am very happy with my life. It’s awesome! In my first full time job after college I earned $11,000 a year. I learned a lot about thrift, hard work and survival with no government help.
Danita, your desire for class warfare is a very dangerous game. Wanting to demonize and punish those among us who are the most successful is nonsensical. “The problem with socialism is you eventually run out of other people’s money.”
Your desire to twist what I say says more about you than me. If you still do not understand how perks add to someone’s salary and standard of living, I have tried. You are either purposefully misunderstanding or honestly, naively ignorant. Either way, I’ve got bigger fish to fry.

obama’s speech writer really earned his money. Without him, barrack is just an babbling idiot.