Re: The Obamas' Net Worth Is as Much as $6.9 Million

Okay, I've never worried about my net worth, or my gross worth for
that matter.
But I got to thinking about it and came up with the rough gross figures:
Home, horse barn and ten acres: $575,000
Property: $100,000
personal savings: 8,000
All other physical property, including a 2003 pickup truck: $75,000

Total: $758,000.
Of course that does not account for our retirements, my social
security, our earnings through our business, benefits through our
medical and my Medicare. I have no idea how to affix value to these
items. And of course, if this house were in certain high value areas,
it would be worth close to a million dollars in and of itself.
But when you deduct what it would cost us to sell the house, and to
sell the property,I have no idea what we'd end up with as our net
value, since we do still have a mortgage.
What I do know is that we intend on living here until we can't. So
property value is meaningless. The piece of property we own outright
is our safety net, if we can sell it for near what we paid for it. So
since we'd have to live somewhere, we only think of our worth as the
money we bring in each month. And that is a figure I will not print
here. Suffice it to say, our combined retirement and earnings from
our business put us well above the national average income.
But remember, I'm a Depression Baby. As such, I was trained to be
frugal. Cathy sometimes calls it, "Cheap". But we live well within
our means, and could live just as comfortably on half. Well, maybe
we'd need to give up our evenings out.
Of course this brings me back to the Obama's net worth. In my mind
that is of no matter. What matters is what is their total Mental
Worth? With what they have, what are they doing to improve the world
they live in? What are each of us doing with what we have?
Despite his much loftier position, and his higher education, and his
higher net worth, I would match my contribution to the improvement of
life in my community with those of Barak Obama.
Working with what I had, my community, the blind community in
Washington State, is better for my efforts.
I was part of a team building effort which developed a strong
organization. As part of that organization, I spent hours, days,
months and years helping to raise the self confidence of blind people,
and our Class Expectations. We brought about the creation of a strong
separate agency, a Commission for the Blind. We forced our state
school for the blind to stop turning into a dumping ground for
multiple disabled children, and to develop a strong program for the
education of blind youth. Through our growing self confidence, we
worked with the Seattle Light House, turning it into a decent
employer, including hiring a blind director, Kirk Adams.
The list is endless. Working with a group in Spokane, I co-founded
Lilac Blind Foundation, back in 1971, an agency still providing
in-home services to the older blind people in Eastern Washington and
Northern Idaho. With a small handful of folks here on the wild
Olympic Peninsula, I helped begin the Jefferson County Council of the
Blind. Today after 19 years, we have 26 members in a very small
population center. We are a self-help organization, teaming together
with the many other social services in our community.
All of this and much more. I've been a player, a team player for over
46 years, and still continue to this day. The best part of my
activity is that I helped develop a network that will continue long
after I'm unable to lift my head. And all of that without ever
concerning myself about my net worth. Without much in the way of net
worth. Sure, it's only a small drop in a small bucket, but it has
helped make a real difference in people's lives.
So, what are you doing, Mister Obama? I mean, in addition to your
job. I'm 80 years old, and still working full time, and the things
I've talked about are the things we've done in our spare time.
Net worth, indeed!

Carl Jarvis
On 5/18/15, Miriam Vieni <miriamvieni@optonline.net> wrote:
> I'm not sure what net worth is. That's because I've never understood math,
> not since first grade. However, I suspect some people on this list,
> depending on where they live, may have close to a million dollars in
> assets.
> It you own your own home and it is located in an area where real estate
> values are high, and that means houses, condos, and co-ops, and you have
> investments from which you derive an income, the dollar amount may add up
> to
> quite a lot. But that doesn't mean that you necessarily have a high income
> or that your income is all that secure. And I'm sure that our vice
> president
> is doing better than you are.
>
> Miriam
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Blind-Democracy [mailto:blind-democracy-bounces@octothorp.org] On
> Behalf Of Carl Jarvis
> Sent: Monday, May 18, 2015 9:45 PM
> To: Blind Democracy Discussion List
> Subject: Re: The Obamas' Net Worth Is as Much as $6.9 Million
>
> I was close to one million dollars, once upon a time. Back in 1962, at the
> Seattle's World Fair, I stood right next to a glass container behind which
> was one million silver dollars. And that's as close as I ever managed to
> get.
> But there is more to that story. Around 2000 we went to see a new client
> in
> Sequim. What a delightful lady. She had the same sense of humor and the
> same crinkly laugh as my grandma Ludwig. It turned out that this lady's
> brother had been some sort of Civil engineer in Montana. Whatever he did
> for a living, he did it very well. He was the owner of those one million
> silver dollars that had been on display.
> Small world.
> Carl Jarvis
>
> On 5/18/15, joe harcz Comcast <joeharcz@comcast.net> wrote:
>> This is all true, but goes to show that all of these folks are distant
>> from
>>
>> the average Joe for sure.
>>
>> It's remarkable to me that Biden is considerred one of the poorer
>> types in high office and his net worth is more than $1 million.
>>
>> Anyone on this list even close to that?
>> ----- Original Message -----
>> From: <kelly@kellford.com>
>> To: "'Blind Democracy Discussion List'"
>> <blind-democracy@octothorp.org>
>> Sent: Sunday, May 17, 2015 9:22 PM
>> Subject: RE: The Obamas' Net Worth Is as Much as $6.9 Million
>>
>>
>>>I don't get this one. Compared to many past presidents and other
>>>political leaders this is not much in terms of net worth.
>>>
>>> The Clintons I just read have earned I think $25 million in the last
>>> year for speeches for example. Check out an article today in the NY
>>> Times about how much CEOs are earning.
>>>
>>> -----Original Message-----
>>> From: Carl Jarvis [mailto:carjar82@gmail.com]
>>> Sent: Sunday, May 17, 2015 6:15 PM
>>> To: Blind Democracy Discussion List
>>> Subject: Re: The Obamas' Net Worth Is as Much as $6.9 Million
>>>
>>> Frank and All,
>>> So what is the issue here? The author seems to be simply laying out
>>> some figures, a rather wide spread if you ask me, but still, what's
>>> the big deal?
>>> Is the suggestion that the Obama's are getting too uppity? Where are
>>> the contrasting figures for the past several presidents? I'll bet
>>> the Obama's look like the poor country cousins by comparison. On the
>>> one hand we all worship wealth, but on the other hand we resent
>>> "certain" people being better off than we are.
>>> Shouldn't we be looking at Obama's record regarding transparency in
>>> government? His kinder, gentler treatment of immigrants? His
>>> promise to put on his boots and stand with the protesters? How he
>>> has lived up to his reception of the Nobel Peace Prize? On and on,
>>> there are so many other issues to talk about rather than how poorly
>>> he and his wife are doing financially.
>>>
>>> Carl Jarvis
>>> On 5/17/15, Frank Ventura <frank.ventura@littlebreezes.com> wrote:
>>>> Why should this supprise anyone? He is a successful lawyer and she
>>>> is a successful lawyer. I have met many doctors and lawyers that
>>>> make that kind of coin in a year. All those condos in Beacon Hill
>>>> and Houses in South Brookline don't come for free you know.
>>>> Frank
>>>>
>>>> -----Original Message-----
>>>> From: Blind-Democracy [mailto:blind-democracy-bounces@octothorp.org]
>>>> On Behalf Of Miriam Vieni
>>>> Sent: Saturday, May 16, 2015 6:17 PM
>>>> To: 'Blind Democracy Discussion List'
>>>> Subject: The Obamas' Net Worth Is as Much as $6.9 Million
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> The Obamas' Net Worth Is as Much as $6.9 Million
>>>> http://www.truthdig.com/eartotheground/item/the_obamas_net_worth_is_
>>>> as
>>>> _much_
>>>> as_69_million_20150515/
>>>> Posted on May 15, 2015
>>>>
>>>> Wikimedia
>>>> The first family almost qualifies as 1 percenters; and financial
>>>> disclosures released Friday revealed that President Barack Obama and
>>>> his wife, Michelle, own assets worth between $1.9 million and $6.9
>>> million.
>>>> Under federal law, the president, senior administration officials
>>>> and members of Congress must report their annual financial holdings.
>>>> These statements allow for disclosure to be revealed in broad ranges
>>>> and do not include financial information related to personal
>>>> residences and government retirement plans.
>>>> Bloomberg tells us:
>>>> The Obamas, employing a cautious investment strategy while in the
>>>> White House, hold much of their wealth-at least $1.25 million-in
>>>> Treasury notes and bills. They also have retirement savings in
>>>> Vanguard index funds, plus checking accounts at JPMorgan Chase & Co.
>>>> and
>>> Northern Trust Corp.
>>>> Those limits allow only a partial view of their net worth.
>>>> According to tax returns they released earlier this year, the Obamas'
>>>> adjusted gross income of $477,383 in 2014 was the lowest for any
>>>> year since 2004, when Barack Obama was elected to the U.S. Senate.
>>>> Sales of their books have declined since he was elected president.
>>>> The Obamas hold $200,000 to $400,000 in college savings accounts for
>>>> their two daughters. The president earlier this year asked Congress
>>>> to limit the tax break for future plans organized under section 529
>>>> of the Internal Revenue Code. He later backed away from the proposal.
>>>> While they'd have to earn a household income of at least $521,411 to
>>>> make it into the 1 percent, the Obamas will likely experience their
>>>> biggest financial gain upon leaving the White House. As Bloomberg
>>>> explains, "Barack Obama, 53, and Michelle Obama, 51, don't have to
>>>> report the value of their largest asset: his status as a future
>>>> ex-president. When he leaves office in January 2017, he will be able
>>>> to make millions of dollars giving speeches and selling books."
>>>> -Posted by Roisin Davis
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> http://www.truthdig.com/ http://www.truthdig.com/
>>>>
>>>> The Obamas' Net Worth Is as Much as $6.9 Million
>>>> http://www.truthdig.com/eartotheground/item/the_obamas_net_worth_is_
>>>> as
>>>> _much_
>>>> as_69_million_20150515/
>>>> Posted on May 15, 2015
>>>>
>>>> Wikimedia
>>>> The first family almost qualifies as 1 percenters; and financial
>>>> disclosures released Friday revealed that President Barack Obama and
>>>> his wife, Michelle, own assets worth between $1.9 million and $6.9
>>> million.
>>>> Under federal law, the president, senior administration officials
>>>> and members of Congress must report their annual financial holdings.
>>>> These statements allow for disclosure to be revealed in broad ranges
>>>> and do not include financial information related to personal
>>>> residences and government retirement plans.
>>>> Bloomberg tells us:
>>>> The Obamas, employing a cautious investment strategy while in the
>>>> White House, hold much of their wealth-at least $1.25 million-in
>>>> Treasury notes and bills. They also have retirement savings in
>>>> Vanguard index funds, plus checking accounts at JPMorgan Chase & Co.
>>>> and
>>> Northern Trust Corp.
>>>> Those limits allow only a partial view of their net worth.
>>>> According to tax returns they released earlier this year, the Obamas'
>>>> adjusted gross income of $477,383 in 2014 was the lowest for any
>>>> year since 2004, when Barack Obama was elected to the U.S. Senate.
>>>> Sales of their books have declined since he was elected president.
>>>> The Obamas hold $200,000 to $400,000 in college savings accounts for
>>>> their two daughters. The president earlier this year asked Congress
>>>> to limit the tax break for future plans organized under section 529
>>>> of the Internal Revenue Code. He later backed away from the proposal.
>>>> While they'd have to earn a household income of at least $521,411 to
>>>> make it into the 1 percent, the Obamas will likely experience their
>>>> biggest financial gain upon leaving the White House. As Bloomberg
>>>> explains, "Barack Obama, 53, and Michelle Obama, 51, don't have to
>>>> report the value of their largest asset: his status as a future
>>>> ex-president. When he leaves office in January 2017, he will be able
>>>> to make millions of dollars giving speeches and selling books."
>>>> -Posted by Roisin Davis
>>>> http://www.truthdig.com/avbooth/item/left_right_and_center_jeb_trade
>>>> _h
>>>> illary
>>>> _20150516/
>>>> http://www.truthdig.com/avbooth/item/left_right_and_center_jeb_trade
>>>> _h
>>>> illary
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>>>> http://www.truthdig.com/avbooth/item/left_right_and_center_jeb_trade
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>>>> illary
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