Hillary Clinton’s Struggle: 1% Financial Problems

A couple days ago while being interviewed, Hillary Clinton was asked about the massive amounts of money her and her husband make giving speeches.  She had the chance to remark about how she is making prudent decisions by maximizing her time and generating the most revenue in the least amount of time by providing a service that others are willing to pay for that doesn’t harm anyone; but she didn’t.  She instead chose to talk about her financial struggles when her family left the White House in 2000. When Hillary claimed they struggled and were dead broke leaving the White House, I must admit, I was shocked and made some sarcastic comments about how rough it had to be, and that it MUST HAVE BEEN HELL to get by on so little, she was ONLY able to buy a $1.7 million home instead of a $3.2 million home! oh, the struggle!! But then I started analyzing it and thinking that MAYBE there was something to this, I wasn’t there, what situation were they in?

Much has been written about Bill Clinton only making $32,000 as governor of Arkansas, but at the time, Hillary was making close to $200,000 as a lawyer.  In 1991 the median family income was $28,875.  While Bill Clinton was president, the pay was $200,000 a year. These people made a ton of money and certainly qualified as “one percenters” during their time in office.  They did not have to own another home at the time.  Their housing and transportation was covered, and they received a $50,000 a year expense account. Pretty sweet deal.

When they left the White House, Hillary had political ambitions of her own and ran for a Senate seat in 2000. In order to claim New York residence, which was a state that she had a good shot at winning, they bought a home there; a $1.7 Million home.  I think most people would struggle to pay that mortgage too.  They could have bought a cheaper home, but chose not to.  Any home in New York would have counted.  They could have bought a decent home for a tenth of the price they paid, heck, even a 20th.

In her 2000 disclosure form the Clinton’s claimed assets of between $781,000 and $1.8 million, but also had debts totaling between $2.3 Million and $10.6 Million.  I don’t know about you, but if I had a net worth of between -$500,000 and -$9,800,000 I think I would feel like I was struggling too, despite having a high income. These debts were legal fees stemming from the Whitewater and Lewinsky incidents.

We all are responsible for the situations we put ourselves in, but I think the criticism being lobbied against her for saying they were struggling is a bit disingenuous.  Now, if I were in their situation would I have bought a mansion or two? No, I would be renting a $500 a month apartment and giving myself a budget of $2K a month, at most, while working out of the debt.  Would I have sent my daughter to high priced schools?  No, she would be at community college.  When you take this debt picture and add on these expenses, of course they were struggling.  I would totally lose sleep at night if I had that much of a negative net worth.  I think there are many people in our society who put themselves in such situations, strapped with debt, despite having a high income. You can be struggling at any income level if your decisions put you in a tough spot, as the Clinton’s decisions did.  Were they in danger of missing any meals? hardly.  But it was conceivable that they could have gone bankrupt.  They WERE struggling, but during the time kept up appearances, despite it being an unwise fiscal plan.

On another point, Bill Clinton created the concept of being a post president celebrity.  His method of earning big bucks through the speaking circuit as a full time gig was not a path other presidents had gone down.  He was charting new territory.  It was not a guarantee that as a former president Bill Clinton would make millions a year. It worked out for them and they were able to get out of debt.

I think they did struggle, and were in WAY over their heads when she was running for Senate.  If Bill hadn’t gone on the speaking circuit, it would have taken them decades to pay off their debts, even with her being a Senator and if Bill found a job making a couple hundred thousand a year.  He may have made a few million in a book deal or two, but up to $10 million in debt is an almost insurmountable burden.  Granted it was a burden he put on himself, through recruiting top lawyers to help him with his scandals.

By 2004 the debt was all paid off.  Hillary’s disclosure showed no debt and a net worth between $10 million and $50 million.  I know I could never live under the scrutiny that public officials need to.  Knowing that every financial decision I make in my life will be analyzed, second guessed and criticized in a public debate would drive me crazy.  I can’t imagine the burden felt by those who do disclose this level of detail in their lives.  We all make choices and trade-offs with every decision we make. We are the sum product of every decision we make in our lives, for better or for worse.  I am no fan of Hillary Clinton, but in this instance, I think she is being criticized to an unfair degree.  The Clinton’s were in a rough spot in 1999/2000, a spot they put themselves in, but a rough spot none the less.

What are your thoughts on the struggle of Bill and Hillary Clinton post White House?  Was it wrong for her to say they struggled while buying mansions, or would you feel the pressure too if you were millions of dollars in the hole?