Posted on 09/02/2008 7:53:38 AM PDT by shrinkermd
Since Joe Biden landed on the Democratic ticket, we've all been treated to commentary attesting to the Lincolnesque rise of this proud son of Scranton, Pa. Here we read the references to "working-class roots..."
...According to his most recent disclosure forms, Mr. Biden's income includes his Senate salary of $165,200 and a teaching stipend of $20,500 from Widener University. On top of this, he received $112,500 as the second half of a book advance. Even allowing for generous deductions, Mr. Biden's income comfortably locates him in the top 5% of American taxpayers...
...Mr. Bowers, a Republican seeking a seat in Delaware's House of Representatives. "You have to remember that the senator lives in an area known as 'chateau country.'"
And it confirms two truths about class in modern America.
First, in Washington you are permitted to enjoy wealth without ever being called wealthy provided simply that you haven't actually earned it in some unseemly way -- by, say, building up a business.
Second, even when Americans do well, we prefer not to define our class by where we rank on the economic scale. Instead, we classify ourselves by where our parents and grandparents were on that scale 50 years ago. Notwithstanding Mr. Biden's moving references to Scranton, he moved out of that gritty city back at the beginning of the Eisenhower administration.
The assumption behind the lunch-bucket imagery, of course, is that Mr. Biden's "working-class roots" gives him an advantage in any debate. I'm not so sure. Sarah Palin -- governor of Alaska and Mr. Biden's rival for vice president -- looks like a woman who can hold her own on issues that speak to hard work and upward mobility.
(Excerpt) Read more at online.wsj.com ...
I consider Biden’s support of the LOST Treaty to be treason. Or is he that stupid?
He wants to put our Navy under partial control of the U.N., which is dominated by China, Russia and Muslim Countries.
So, treason or stupidity. Take your pick. If it is simply naive, then he should step down.
What a crock! Joe Biden is a compulsive liar, self aggrandizer, and a yellow belly sap sucker, who the Iranians sent running back to the U.S., with his wet tail between his legs, and yelping about how “all our problems with Iran, are all the U.S. Govt’s fault”.
I have a lot of differences with Biden’s views, but it’s ridiculous to portray him as “rich.” 165K is a squarely middle-class income in an expensive city like Washington. Don’t forget also that Biden, like most members of Congress, maintains two homes, one in DC and one in his home state.
Biden is conspicuous for having not enriched himself while in office.
Regardless of explanations, Senator Biden still is in the top 5% of wage earners. Not bad for a “lunch bucket” Democrat.
HEY, I RESENT THAT REMARK!
HaHa....except his lavish meals out are paid for by lobbyists, his sons are making beaucoup bucks (and probably feeding it back to Dad) via Biden's earmarks/pork/senate contacts, etc......sorry....I don't buy the "not enriched himself while in office.....and, oh, does his wife work? Just curious.
Two minutes of the “class act” on the campaign trail:
http://texasdarlin.wordpress.com/2008/08/31/biden-drinking-on-the-job/
Some posters are convinced he was drunk. I say that’s what this clown is like when he’s sober.
Let’s see his financial disclosure statement....
He’s also got benefits, an expense account and a pension to die for—plus his major property in the family, not in his own name.
Don't forget he has a Doctorate of Law degree. He knows how to play the "shell game" as well or better than any of the other dinosaur Congressmen that somehow keep getting re-elected.
On another note, do they (Dems) really believe he represents what they've been referring to as "change"?
I do not believe that is true. It is such a tradition that it is nearly an unwritten law that Delaware's Congresscritters commute to and from DC back to Delaware the majority of the time.
I don't like Biden anymore than anyone else here, probably less than some even, but this is a rather ridiculous way to go after him.
Joe Biden Spent His Fortune on Amtrak Ticketshttp://campaignspot.nationalreview.com/post/?q=OWEwMjY5ODhkNWJmNmFmMDA0NDVhZWJkMDg0NGVjYWY=Over on Culture11.com, they calculate that by taking Amtrak, salt-of-the-earth, working-class Joe Biden spends $222 on commuting every day that the Senate is in session.
Looking at Amtrak's page, the rate for a train from Wilmington, Del. to Washington D.C.'s Union Station ranges, from $42 to $125 one way. So if he bought the cheap seats — and anecdotal evidence suggests that is not the case — he spends $84 per day; two one-way peak tickets on Acela (presumably Biden doesn't always know when the Senate will finish its work for the day) costs $250 per day.
Not that Biden has been in attendance every day, but the Senate has been in session 129 days so far this year. So his commuting cost range, had he gone to Washington every day that the Senate was in session, would range from $10,836 to $32,250, just from January to August.
As they note, if Biden worked five days a week fifty weeks a year like most Americans, his train expenses would exceed the median household income in the nation. If Biden is, as he once claimed, "the poorest man in the Senate", some of it may have to do with how he spends his money.
UPDATE: Some readers note that if Biden gets a monthly pass, he’s spending $1,062 per month – so $12,744 per year.
However, according to Amtrak, "Northeast monthly ticket holders may upgrade to certain off-peak Acela Express trains for an additional charge. This may only be done at staffed Amtrak stations within 30 minutes of departure." Anecdotal evidence suggests Biden takes Acela regularly.
I don’t understand how growing up in a town but moving out when you are 12 gives you “roots” there. I grew up in a couple of small towns, and I remember them fondly, but they don’t reflect who I am, if anything they reflect my parent’s choices.
That is more than some people make in a year.
How much teaching does he do for that $20,000, while the American people are paying him $165,000 for a full-time job?
Regarding the Amtrak commuting costs, Biden — like all members of Congress — gets an annual travel allowance which would cover this expense completely. Biden’s commute probably costs less than the weekly roundtrips via commercial air that Congressional members from the West make.
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