As Rick Santorum surges to the top of the GOP field, there's been a lot of talk about his ability to connect with blue-collar voters.
Well, there is one thing that the ex-Pennsylvania senator has in common with the working class: He knows what it's like to lose a job.
But there's where the similarity ends. In the four years after voters in the Keystone State unceremoniously bounced Santorum from office in a landside, the career politician earned a whopping $3.6 million, averaging close to $1 million a year over 2008, 2009 and 2010 -- despite seeming, as the New York Times' Gail Collins described him, sort of unemployed.
He...is...NOT...the...99 percent:
Rick Santorum said they would come this week, and here are four years worth of his taxes, from years 2007 through 2010.
They can be found here, here, here and here. The returns are the most in number that have been released by any of the major GOP contenders - Newt Gingrich and Mitt Romney didn't release several years' worth.
Santorum and his wife Karen filed joint returns for all four years. As you'll see from the returns, the Santorums' adjusted gross income went from about $659,000 in 2007, his first year out of the Senate, to $952,000 in 2008, to $1.1 million in 2009 and about $923,000 in 2010.
They paid about $167,000 in taxes in 2007, about $262,000 in 2008, $310,000 in 2009, and $263,000 in 2010.
There is rental income from a condo and depreciation on that property over the various years. The Santorums' charitable giving was a small percentage of his income each year.
You would think that losing an election by 18 points wouldn't be the best career move, but as been reported previously, everyone from health care companies to frackers to Fox News to, ahem, the then-Brian Tierney led Philadelphia Inquirer were eager to practically throw dollars at a former U.S. senator. Pundits will continue to blather on about Santorum's bond with the working man, but I'm not really sure why. Clearly, he doesn't feel their pain.
I think the word you were looking for in the last paragraph was "throw" not "through". Do you actually proof read what you put out?— DuncanIdaho- I didn't proof read what I typed...I meant to say "threw" not "throw". But then again I'm not a journalist (throwing some fresh meet to some of your "fans" with that last phrase)— DuncanIdaho
- Rick Santorum was the ghost writer of "The Audacity of Hope".— Mr. Smith
- Mendacity of Dope is more like it. — bobcitydoc
Comment removed.- Just for the record, not that I was ever "paid by George Soros," but I haven't been a senior fellow program with Media Matters since December, as that entire program was eliminated. (Funny, Comcast advertises a lot in the Philadelphia Newspapers, but no one has ever said I was "paid by Brian Roberts." Go figure. All things considered, the media mogel who paid me the most money since 2010 has been the owner of HarperCollins book publishing...Rupert Murdoch. You can see how that's influenced my coverage of his Fox News Channel.— will
- Will, I'd love to see your defense for publishing these earnings without any context whatsoever. How much did Obama earn in the year before he was elected? I'll provide the answer: the Obamas had an income of $4.1 million in 2007, or more than Santorum has made since leaving office. — jfar86
- So, you are just like those you go after on a daily basis...don't care who I work for, even 1%ers, corporations and folks with more $$$ than the equity companies I use to bash those I hate, as long as they pay me the most money!!! Hypocrite!! Go figure. LOL!!! — sarah89
- Oops, "mogul."— will
- Missing right-side parenthesis on original post. — J H
- More important is how he made the money. What was his job? Was he given money as a consultant to some corporate special interest organization? Likely. What did he do for it? Likely nothing (like Newt did for Fannie/Freddie). What's expected of those groups if he's elected?— maldorer
- Comment removed.
- Comment removed.
Will Bunch, a senior writer at the Philadelphia Daily News, blogs about his obsessions, including national and local politics and world affairs, the media, pop music, the Philadelphia Phillies, soccer and other sports, not necessarily in that order.
E-mail Will by clicking here.
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