Obamas grow ever richer during Bush administration

NY Times:

Senator Barack Obama released his 2007 tax return on Wednesday evening, reporting a household income of $4.2 million last year due to a sharp increase in the sale of his books during the first year of his presidential campaign.

That was a substantial jump from the roughly $1 million in income the Obamas reported in 2006, much of that also from book deals. Earlier this month, the Clintons released their tax returns over eight years, showing they earned $109 million over that period, with a substantial portion likewise coming from book sales.

In the returns released Wednesday, Mr. Obama and his wife, Michelle, reported a $3.9 million net profit from books, a sum that dwarfed their combined salaries of $260,735. They paid nearly $1.4 million in federal taxes last year and contributed $240,370 to various charities.

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For the third year in a row, royalties from the sale of Mr. Obama’s books dramatically elevated their wealth. His annual Senate salary was $157,102 and her salary at the University of Chicago hospitals was $103,633 - less than the previous year because she dropped to part-time status to spend more time on the presidential campaign.

Their contributions to charity have increased exponentially since he started running for president. Among their largest gifts were donations of $26,270 to Trinity United Church of Christ; $50,000 to the United Negro College Fund; $35,000 to the global poverty charity CARE.

In terms of investments, the Obamas reported just $1,442 in taxable interest income in 2007.

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That is pretty good pay for a part time job for Michelle, considering that it is more than 95 percent of the country make working full time. It is really incredible that she whines so much about how hard life is. It is also clear that Obama attempt to mislead the country into believing we are in hard economic times is a fraud.

Another thing of note here is it appears he has had no experience with investing despite his robust income. That is probably why he has such screwball ideas about taxing investment income and capital gains.