OBAMA Vacation: Cost 35,000-50,000 a week

[Spursmania]

How's that for moving up in the world? :wow:wow
Maybe vacation rentals should be taxed to pay for healthcare? :lol

Obamas rent Republican's $20 million house on Martha's Vineyard

Barack Obama and his family will spend their August holiday on a $20 million (£12.5 million), 28-acre farm, complete with an apple orchard, private beach and even a basketball court to satisfy the president's sporting needs.



By Alex Spillius in Washington
Published: 10:04PM BST 28 Jul 2009

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http://www.telegraph.co.uk/telegraph/multimedia/archive/01452/obama1_1452186c.jpg Obama Family Vacation Rental The Blue Heron Farm in Chilmark.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/telegraph/multimedia/archive/01452/obama2_1452187c.jpg Inside Blue Heron Farm, The White House have confirmed that the president had settled on the Massachusetts island for his holiday.


According to local reports, similar rental properties on the exclusive Martha's Vineyard island cost between $35,000 (£21,875) and $50,000 ($31,250) a week.


Contracts for the Blue Heron Farm show three leases for Mr Obama, the Secret Service and White House staff, with the president expected to cover his family's bill. Consisting of four buildings, the complex in Chilmark, a quieter part of the island, should have room for all.

The property is owned by William Van Devender, a Mississippi timber merchant who is a major donor to the Republican Party.
The White House had earlier confirmed that the president had settled on the Massachusetts island for his first holiday in office, but had attempted to keep the precise location secret.


Earlier speculation had put the family in the town of Oak Bluffs, which is home to a prominent African-American community that includes Henry Louis Gates Jr and Spike Lee.
The impending arrival of Mr Obama, his wife Michelle, their two daughters and pet dog Bo for a one-week stay is causing considerable excitement even in a place accustomed to celebrity tourists.


As the Obamas prepared for a bit of time out of the Washington spotlight, the White House released what it said was definitive proof that the 44th US president is an American citizen.

State officials in Hawaii on Monday said they had once again checked and confirmed that Mr Obama was born in Hawaii and is a natural-born US citizen, and therefore meets a key constitutional requirement for being president.

A vocal group of conspiracy theorists known as "birthers" had claimed that the United States' first African-American president was born in Kenya, not Hawaii, and was thus ineligible for office.

[Wild Cobra]

Who cares?

[George Gervin's Afro]

ok

[Spursmania]

Who cares?

It's summer-no basketball. Why not?:lol

[ChumpDumper]

How's that for moving up in the world? :wow:wowThey could already afford that years ago.

Nice display of class envy by you, though.

[Wild Cobra]

It's summer-no basketball. Why not?:lol
I just don't care that it's expensive. He's the president. I may not like him, but the job does have certain perks. I'm not one to complain about the money he spends, or the cost of security that goes with being president. I see the thread as just another useless thread attempting to cause fighting.

[Marcus Bryant]

There are classes in this country, and the present arrangement makes it likely that those will be more static than in the last 4 or 5 decades.

[Spursmania]

They could already afford that years ago.

Nice display of class envy by you, though.

Not really. Just a little summer fun. By the way, he only started making some really good money in 2005 when his book money came in.

Obamas release 2008 tax return


The first family's income dropped to $2.7 million from $4.2 million the previous year. The president and first lady paid $855, 323 in federal taxes.


By John McCormick
April 16, 2009
Reporting from Chicago — The first family released its 2008 federal tax return today, showing household income dropping to $2.7 million, from $4.2 million the previous year.


But while many Americans had a bad financial year, President Obama recorded a net profit from book sales of $2.5 million, according to a copy of the tax return released this afternoon by the White House.



He and First Lady Michelle Obama paid $855,323 in federal taxes, while making $172,050 in charitable contributions to 37 different charities. The largest reported gifts were $25,000 to both the United Negro College Fund and the relief organization CARE. "The president sold a lot of books last year, no doubt, and paid a hefty amount in federal income tax," White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said.
As president, Obama now is paid $400,000 a year.
Vice President Joe Biden and wife Jill reported adjusted gross income of $269,256 from salaries from the U.S. Senate, Widener University and Delaware Technical & Community College and royalties from the audio rights to the vice president's book. They paid $46,952 in federal income taxes.
A year ago, then-President George W. Bush reported taxable income of $719,274 for the 2007 tax year. He and Laura Bush paid $221,635 in federal income taxes that year.
The Obamas contributed $6 in 2008 to the federal fund that provides public financing of presidential campaigns, a program the Democratic nominee bypassed himself.
The first family's personal wealth has soared over the last few years, following the same trajectory of Obama's rapid political rise.
Their annual household income fluctuated around the $250,000 mark during the first half of this decade, before his election to the U.S. Senate in 2004. Millions in book royalties and advances started rolling in during 2005.
Before entering the Senate, Obama signed two book deals worth nearly $2.3 million. He received about $1.2 million of the advance money in 2005, helping the couple afford their purchase that year of a $1.65-million house in Chicago's Kenwood neighborhood.
From 1997 through 2004, Obama earned dual paychecks for his work as a state lawmaker and as a lecturer at the University of Chicago Law School.
Over the same period, Michelle Obama worked first for the University of Chicago and then for the University of Chicago Hospitals. Their household income was also augmented in most years by thousands of dollars that her husband earned from practicing law, giving speeches and serving as a director of charitable foundations.
The Obamas have only recently dug deeply into their own pockets to support charitable causes. In 2002, the year before Obama launched his U.S. Senate campaign, the couple reported income of $259,394 and $1,050 in deductions for gifts to charity, below the national average of $1,872.
[email protected]

[Rogue]

Obama earns hundreds of thousands of dollars every year from the federal government, obviously dude belongs to the rich class and can afford a week of vacation only costing half as the yearly income of a mid-level american worker. Anyway dude can't have so many weeks every year to spend on vacation, and it's rational for a millionaire like Obama to spend 1 million or some every year on tour.

[Spursmania]

I just don't care that it's expensive. He's the president. I may not like him, but the job does have certain perks. I'm not one to complain about the money he spends, or the cost of security that goes with being president. I see the thread as just another useless thread attempting to cause fighting.

It's not as if you have to post if you don't like the thread.

[ChumpDumper]

By the way, he only started making some really good money in 2005 when his book money came in.So my statement is true.

[Spursmania]

So my statement is true.

Is it?

[ChumpDumper]

Is it?Yes.

[Rogue]

That's what Obama earns as his salary, no dime of the money spent on vacations comes from tax payer dollars. Obama, as any other common american citizen, has the rights to spend his earning on whatever he wants as long as it doesn't break the law.

[Spursmania]

Yes.

Congratulations
Quite impressive.:toast

[Rogue]

As the Obamas prepared for a bit of time out of the Washington spotlight, the White House released what it said was definitive proof that the 44th US president is an American citizen.

I'm not even sick of an alien being the president if dude can make america better than ever. Obama has also got such an ambition to bring US back to prosperity and make it greater than it has ever been, but dude has got to bring US out of troubles at first, which is still a mission remaining unresolved.

[TDMVPDPOY]

and how many of those charitable donations get funneled back into his estate where it becomes tax free income? nothing beats tax avoidance if you know ur way around it....lmao....

rich get richer...get rich or die trying....

[ducks]

so is he footing the bill or the tax payer?
I bet it is the tax payer and his salary is not going towards his vaction

[ploto]

... with the president expected to cover his family's bill.
It's right there in the article.

[FromWayDowntown]

n/m

[fyatuk]

That's what Obama earns as his salary, no dime of the money spent on vacations comes from tax payer dollars. Obama, as any other common american citizen, has the rights to spend his earning on whatever he wants as long as it doesn't break the law.

Not entirely true. Obama is paying for his family, yes, but the taxpayer still pays the exhoribitant rates for the Secret Service and WH Staff that goes along with him.

No big deal though. He can take whatever vacation he wants, since it's not like he can actually say no to the SS and WH staff accompaniment.

[ElNono]

I bet the ranch in Crawford was a lot cheaper!

[Wild Cobra]

I bet the ranch in Crawford was a lot cheaper!I don't see why this is a big deal to anyone except gossipers. Do you? For personal expenditures, I'll bet you're right. It seems to me that the Obama's should have just bought their own nice place, instead of renting, but that's their business.

Guy's, give the man a break on his personal life.

[antimvp]

........and?

[101A]

My only question is:

Did the Clintons claim their vacation rentals that were donated on their tax returns?

The IRS might need to talk to them; maximum gift = $10K

Obama?

If you got it, spend it. (also good to see he's gotten his charitable giving up to respectable levels; what it was before he ran for Senate was a disgrace.

[ChumpDumper]

My only question is:

Did the Clintons claim their vacation rentals that were donated on their tax returns?

The IRS might need to talk to them; maximum gift = $10KI'm sure they already would have had there been anything illegal.

[DarrinS]

This kind of wasteful spending is only important if it involves the wardrobe of one Sarah Palin.


Sincerely,


MSM

[ChumpDumper]

Palin wasn't spending her own money.

Sincerely,

Reality

[George Gervin's Afro]

This kind of wasteful spending is only important if it involves the wardrobe of one Sarah Palin.


Sincerely,


MSM

Why do you not want the president to take a vaction?

[elbamba]

I always hated that people picked apart every move Bush made, I wish Republicans would show some class by not politicizing every move our president makes. If President Obama can afford this trip, more power to him. I save my money so that I can go on nice trips with my wife and kids. I have been able to save money due to certain tax advantages that come with owning my own business...I am still a good person. and not a tax cheat. Lets stop the overreaction.

[Wild Cobra]

I always hated that people picked apart every move Bush made, I wish Republicans would show some class by not politicizing every move our president makes. If President Obama can afford this trip, more power to him. I save my money so that I can go on nice trips with my wife and kids. I have been able to save money due to certain tax advantages that come with owning my own business...I am still a good person. and not a tax cheat. Lets stop the overreaction.
Are conservatives making a big deal of it? I agree. Let the man vacation in peace.

[Jacob1983]

This is totally wrong and inappropriate. Obama does not need to be on vacation right now. The economy is a mess. He needs to be at the Whitehouse doing his job. And if he's really dedicated to Obamacare then he shouldn't be taking a vacation. Bush got blasted for all the times he went on vacation so Obama should get the same treatment in my opinion.

[clambake]

This is totally wrong and inappropriate. Bush got blasted for all the times he went on vacation

nah, you guys said he was a wurkin prez no matter where he was.

[Wild Cobra]

This is totally wrong and inappropriate. Obama does not need to be on vacation right now. The economy is a mess. He needs to be at the Whitehouse doing his job. And if he's really dedicated to Obamacare then he shouldn't be taking a vacation. Bush got blasted for all the times he went on vacation so Obama should get the same treatment in my opinion.
So are you in the opinion that two wrongs make a right?

That's a disgrace of the left that they are crybabies over any trivial thing. I'm not going to stoop to their level. Just because the left is a bunch of hypocrites doesn't mean intelligent people need to be.

[fyatuk]

nah, you guys said he was a wurkin prez no matter where he was.

Now-a-days, it's true no matter who the president is. Everything he could possibly need to do his jobs is going to be at his disposal, no matter where he vacations. They'd setup a mini-oval office in the Antactic if the had to.

It's more of taking some light days instead of taking some days off.

[ducks]

I'm sure they already would have had there been anything illegal.

do you really believe that

[Bartleby]

This is totally wrong and inappropriate. Obama does not need to be on vacation right now. The economy is a mess. He needs to be at the Whitehouse doing his job. And if he's really dedicated to Obamacare then he shouldn't be taking a vacation. Bush got blasted for all the times he went on vacation so Obama should get the same treatment in my opinion.

If Obama spends as much of his presidency on vacation as Bush did (more than any other U.S. president) you may have something to bitch about. Otherwise STFU.

[DarrinS]

Why do you not want the president to take a vaction?

I hope he takes many.

[ChumpDumper]

do you really believe thatYes I do. A sitting vice-president was forced to resign when facing prosecution for tax evasion not too long ago. He was given perhaps the lightest sentence ever meted out for such a charge, but it did happen.

Clinton makes so much money now, there is no reason not to pay taxes on gifts if that's the way they are handled.

[RandomGuy]

http://www.trephination.net/gallery/macros/who_cares-coleman.jpg

[Wild Cobra]

If Obama spends as much of his presidency on vacation as Bush did (more than any other U.S. president) you may have something to bitch about. Otherwise STFU.
Hmmmm.....

Just where was he suppose to be as the White House has being remodeled? Funny how he got so much work done on vacation too. This is why I call you guys LIBTARDS! You regurgitate the propaganda bullshit your masters tell you to. You're such a good Kool-Aid drinking Lemming.

How about looking at a counter view. Watch FahrenHYPE 9/11.

fqb7jT47Al0\

7:25 into part 3 debunks the lies about President Bush's vacationing.

The 42% included weekends, travel time, and 38 days at Camp David. It was time he wasn't at the White House. Not vacation time, because he actually worked. He has Planned a summit with the Russian Leader, Met with President Fox of Mexico, and other things.

Here is seven days of that 42% vacation:

Monday, 8/20/01:

Spoke at the Annual Veterans of Foreign Wars convention in Milwaukee, WI.
Signed 6 bills into law
Announced 7 nominees
Spoke with workers at the Harley Davidson factory
Dined with Governor Bill Graves of Kansas

Tuesday, 8/21/01:

Took press questions at a Target store in Kansas City, MO.
Spoke with Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien about Free Trade

Wednesday, 8/22/01 (Texas Ranch):

Met with some WH staff
Conferenced with Mexico’s president on Argentina’s economy and IMF role.
Talked with Margeret Lamontagne on Immigration Policy meetings.
Released the Mid-Session review, a summary of the economic outlook for the next decade.
Announce 14 nominations and appointment intentions.
Issued a presidential determination ordering a military drawdown for Tunisia.
Issued a statement regarding the retirement of Sen. Jesse Helms.

Thursday, 8/23/01 (Texas Ranch):

Spoke with the press.
Visited Crawford Elementary School and answered student questions.

Friday, 8/24/01 (Texas Ranch):

Visited with officials from Washington.
Had a Press Conference.
Announced the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs and 15 other appointments.
Met with National Security and Defense officials regarding Military Transformation.
Met with Andy Card and Karen Hughes about communications issues.
Issued a proclamation honoring Women’s Equality Day.

Saturday, 8/25/01:

Received a CIA and National Security Briefing.
Gave his weekly radio address.

Sunday, 8/26/01:

Spoke at the Little League series in Williamsport, PA.
Spoke at the U.S. Steel Group Steelworkers picnic at Mon Valley Works.

[velik_m]

Next thing you'll be telling us, that when he goes to a hotel, he stays in the presidential suite.

[elbamba]

This is totally wrong and inappropriate. Obama does not need to be on vacation right now. The economy is a mess. He needs to be at the Whitehouse doing his job. And if he's really dedicated to Obamacare then he shouldn't be taking a vacation. Bush got blasted for all the times he went on vacation so Obama should get the same treatment in my opinion.

Why? Does the country really need 8 years of bashing a president? Didn't it really bother you when they did it to Bush? What is Obama just sat at his desk doing nothing, would that be any different then doing nothing on vacation? Can't Obama work while he is on vacation. I took a cruise last year to the Balkans and I managed to get quite a bit of work done on the 12 day cruise. I would imagine that Obama isn't going to stop being president at Martha's Vineyard.

[Yonivore]

I would imagine that Obama isn't going to stop being president at Martha's Vineyard.
That's a shame.

[George Gervin's Afro]

Hmmmm.....

Just where was he suppose to be as the White House has being remodeled? Funny how he got so much work done on vacation too. This is why I call you guys LIBTARDS! You regurgitate the propaganda bullshit your masters tell you to. You're such a good Kool-Aid drinking Lemming.

How about looking at a counter view. Watch FahrenHYPE 9/11.

fqb7jT47Al0\

7:25 into part 3 debunks the lies about President Bush's vacationing.

The 42% included weekends, travel time, and 38 days at Camp David. It was time he wasn't at the White House. Not vacation time, because he actually worked. He has Planned a summit with the Russian Leader, Met with President Fox of Mexico, and other things.

Here is seven days of that 42% vacation:

Monday, 8/20/01:

Spoke at the Annual Veterans of Foreign Wars convention in Milwaukee, WI.
Signed 6 bills into law
Announced 7 nominees
Spoke with workers at the Harley Davidson factory
Dined with Governor Bill Graves of Kansas

Tuesday, 8/21/01:

Took press questions at a Target store in Kansas City, MO.
Spoke with Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien about Free Trade

Wednesday, 8/22/01 (Texas Ranch):

Met with some WH staff
Conferenced with Mexico’s president on Argentina’s economy and IMF role.
Talked with Margeret Lamontagne on Immigration Policy meetings.
Released the Mid-Session review, a summary of the economic outlook for the next decade.
Announce 14 nominations and appointment intentions.
Issued a presidential determination ordering a military drawdown for Tunisia.
Issued a statement regarding the retirement of Sen. Jesse Helms.

Thursday, 8/23/01 (Texas Ranch):

Spoke with the press.
Visited Crawford Elementary School and answered student questions.

Friday, 8/24/01 (Texas Ranch):

Visited with officials from Washington.
Had a Press Conference.
Announced the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs and 15 other appointments.
Met with National Security and Defense officials regarding Military Transformation.
Met with Andy Card and Karen Hughes about communications issues.
Issued a proclamation honoring Women’s Equality Day.

Saturday, 8/25/01:

Received a CIA and National Security Briefing.
Gave his weekly radio address.

Sunday, 8/26/01:

Spoke at the Little League series in Williamsport, PA.
Spoke at the U.S. Steel Group Steelworkers picnic at Mon Valley Works.

So a president can work while he's on vacation? Dumbass:rolleyes

[Yonivore]

So a president can work while he's on vacation?
It would be nice if this one didn't.

[George Gervin's Afro]

It would be nice if this one didn't.

You may want to fill in your sister wild cobra and let him know she's exposing herslef as a hypocrite..

[Wild Cobra]

Wow... George is really stupid. I was defending Obama on this one.