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Presidential Perks: Paying for Carter’s postage, Bush’s bills, and Clinton’s rent
news.yahoo.com...
By Jonathan Karl, Avery Miller, Richard Coolidge & Sherisse Pham | Power Players – 2 hrs 48 mins ago
In 2010, taxpayer-financed expenses included $15,000 for Jimmy Carter's postage, $579,000 for Bill Clinton's rent and a whopping $830,000 for George W. Bush's phone bill. It adds up: All told, U.S. taxpayers were on the hook for more than $3 million of expenses for the four surviving former U.S. presidents.
They certainly don't seem to need the money. These days being a former U.S. President is a lucrative business. After all, Bill Clinton raked in more than $10 million just in speaking fees last year. George W. Bush made even more: $15 million just for giving speeches.
This entitlement for the very rich was put in place when at least one former president wasn't rich. Congress created this presidential entitlement in 1958 because Harry Truman couldn't afford to pay his bills.