This page was last updated on June 16, 2016.
“We the People, It’s not the 1%, It’s the 99%, Bernie stands for all of us!”
So read a banner at a Bernie Sanders (BS) rally. The banner failed to mention BS is a five-percenter or better. You have to love it; a five-percenter or better complaining about one-percenters. One-percenters include Bill & Hillary Clinton (HC), President Barack & Michelle Obama, and U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) & Bruce Mann.
As a reminder, “one-percenter” really means “non-lefty one-percenter.” That’s why we never hear leftists complain in public about lefty one-percenters like the Clintons, the Obamas, George Soros (Wall Street hedge-fund manager), Tom Steyer (Wall Street hedge-fund manager), and the Manns/Warrens. Yes, yes, I know; the Clintons and Obamas aren’t lefties. <g>
The Sanderses had an adjusted gross income (AGI) of $205,271 according to their joint 2014 federal income tax return. An AGI of $205,271 places BS well into the top 1% to 5% which begins at $179,760. Of the $46,213 of SS benefits the Sanderses collected from taxpayers, $39,281 were taxable. The Sanderses took advantage of the “Home mortgage interest” ($22,946) loophole to avoid a higher tax liability.
HC out does BS. The Clintons’ AGI for 2014 was $27,946,490, their highest AGI to date. Since the entry point for the one-percenter club was $428,713 for 2014, the Clintons are way beyond the wealth stratosphere. That’s pretty good considering HC claimed she and Mr. Clinton were “dead broke” when they left the White House. If the Clintons were “dead broke” when they walked out of the White House in January 2001, they bounced back well. By the end of 2001, the Clintons’ AGI was $15,949,819 and they have been one-percenters ever since.
Mrs. Mann/Warren (EW) is not currently a candidate for President. I threw EW in because she is currently HC’s champion vs. Donald Trump (DT). According to CNN Money (1/8/15), “[EW’s] average net worth of $8.75 million, including her home, secures her a spot the Top 1% bracket in terms of wealth.”
The Cruzes have been one-percenters since at least 2011, with their AGI ranging from $970,193 in 2013 to $1,731,027 in 2011.
DT hasn’t yet released any of his tax returns, but it’s a safe bet he’s been a one-percenter for decades regardless of his varying party affiliations.
You can find the federal income tax returns for other current and former presidents and presidential candidates at “Tax History Project - Presidential Tax Returns.”
Finally, the Obamas have been one-percenters since at least 2005 (AGI = $1,655,106), and their peak AGI was $5,505,409 in 2009.
In Peace, Friendship, Community, Cooperation, and Solidarity. <g>
© 2004-2016 Robert W. Cox, all rights reserved.