The Rachel Cruze Show - Political Money Facts That Will Shock You

Starting point is 00:00:05 Well, hey, you guys. So the election, it's coming up. And one thing that I always find fascinating is when I can see numbers, like when it comes to finances behind the scenes and politics, I always find that fascinating. And listen, I kind of like to poke fun at all sides of the political spectrum. But let's face it, Democrats and Republicans both have struggled to make smart financial decisions throughout history. So today I thought it would be fun to share some of the Wild money facts from Washington. By the way, you have to stick around and let me know which White House salary shocked you the most. And if you enjoy this kind of content, make sure hit the subscribe button so you can get every new episode.

Starting point is 00:00:47 All right, let's go to the White House renovation budget. Uh-huh. Every president gets to make changes in renovations when they move in. So Trump spent approximately $1.75 million on his reno. Obama was about $1.5 million. but Truman holds the record for, are you ready for this? For today's dollars, it would have been $11 million. That crazy? And not all of the budget goes towards private living quarters for the president and his family.

Starting point is 00:01:18 Some of this is updated, you know, when it comes to corporate wings where staffers work and that kind of thing. So overall, when they look at the reno budget, I mean, fascinating. And how fun, right, just to get a couple mill, get to go renovate some stuff. Sure. Why not? All right, let's look at the government's officials' salary. And this is of January of 2024 where these stats come from, okay? So the president makes $400,000 a year. And what's interesting is that that has been the same salary for over 20 years. The vice presidents makes $235,000. Not bad. But you know who makes more than the vice president? The chief justice of the Supreme Court.

Starting point is 00:02:03 They make $312,000. And the vice president's salary was under a pay freeze since 2014, but was increased by Congress this year. Now, all of that is adjusted annually as that the ceiling on salaries of certain federal employees

Starting point is 00:02:19 continue to rise. So, very interesting. Now, when you think about traveling, Air Force One comes to mind. So what's interesting is in 2020, the flight cost of that year for Air Force One was $176,393.

Starting point is 00:02:35 And according to this article, that included the fuel, flight food and drinks, and aircraft and engine overhaul. So what's considered, quote, unquote, official duty for the president to represent the United States and global relations by traveling abroad. And other than Trump, every president since Reagan has spent at least a hundred days on official visits abroad. And Clinton holds the record for more than 200 days on official visits. duty abroad. So, of course, when the president goes, Air Force One goes, and it costs money. But when you look at Air Force One and they're traveling abroad, those are the costs, which I'll be honest, y'all, $176,000 was less than what I would have guessed if I was a betting gal. But, I mean, hey, let's budget our way to freedom. So that's great. All right, let's look at some campaign costs when it comes

Starting point is 00:03:25 into these elections, and 2020, almost $14 billion was spent on federal election campaigns. And this is more than double than what was spent in 2016, making 2020 the most expensive campaign in U.S. history. Now, all campaign costs, including for positions in the House and the Senate, have risen consistently since 1990, and recent studies are showing that that is a growing concern among majority of Americans. So again, most of us are looking at campaign costs. I'm like, holy crap. It's a lot of money. All right, let's look at the staff when it comes around the president and Washington, D.C. and their salaries. So Secret Service is paid between $53,000 and $142,000, depending on your experience. The First Lady's Social Media

Starting point is 00:04:16 Manager makes approximately $113,000. All right. That's a $1,000. All right. That's a lot. pretty fun. And the White House sign language interpreter makes about $109,000 a year. And the White House Director of Gifts makes about $71,000 a year. I mean, y'all, it's so funny all of the different positions. I do love reading about like D.C. or how the White House has run, the east wing, the west wing, all of it. But you do see how much staff goes into the president and his life. I mean, it's just wow. All right. Let's look at the numbers in Washington around the debt, boo. So here we go. Biden increased the debt by $4.7 trillion. Trump increased the debt by $8.2 trillion, which was an increase of about 40%. Abraham Lincoln's presidency saw the largest increase of national

Starting point is 00:05:11 debt with about 2,859% of an increase. That's a lot, y'all. So yeah, the national debt, it's on the rise. and every president seems to be dipping more and more into it. And listen, you guys, here's one thing that is for sure, is that everyone, especially Congress, needs a budget, right? Being in control of our money is so key, even to our country. Now, for you, what that means for you is that your income is being planned out, and that is so, so key. So if you have not checked out every dollar, this is our budgeting app,

Starting point is 00:05:44 make sure to click the link below and get started for free, because I think everyone, even in D.C., should be doing every dollar. Getting in the habit of budgeting is so good. All right, if you enjoyed this content, you should definitely check out my episode where I'm reacting to an NFL's player's paycheck that's next. And share this episode with a friend who loves a good political money stat.

Starting point is 00:06:07 All right, you guys, remember to take control of your money and create a life you love.

The Rachel Cruze Show - Political Money Facts That Will Shock You

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