Put yourself in President Obama's shoes.
You're 55 years old. You've got about 25 years worth of retirement ahead of you, possibly more with luck. You're a global celebrity. You've got a wife, children, and hopefully some grandchildren with some luck.
Your people, who do your money, sit you down and start informing you of the sober truth:
His pension payment will be $207,800 for the upcoming year, about half of his presidential salary.
Obama and every other former president also get seven months of "transition" services to help adjust to post-presidential life. The ex-Commander in Chief also gets lifetime Secret Service protection as well as allowances for things such as travel, office expenses, communications and health care coverage.
He will also get a $50k per year expense account. Barely enough to pay for 5 or 6 hours of private jet time. Believe me, you don't want Obama in coach screwing up your departure time with his security protocol.
The presidential pension is a very generous pension by the standards of perhaps a plumber or carpenter. Of course, being a global celebrity is nothing like being a plumber. By those standards Obama's pension earnings are a pittance. Even if one compares him to a multinational Fortune 500 CEO, (which demands responsibilities for which people are heavily over compensated in many cases and don't even come remotely close to those of a president), the pension is a fraction of what folks at this level need to earn.
Plus, the pension and expense budget is itself on thin ice:
The pensions and other benefits were first created in 1958, when former President Harry Truman was experiencing financial trouble. The annual payments are currently the same as what cabinet secretaries earn in a given year, and those salaries are set by Congress.
But the days of this kind of taxpayer support for ex-presidents may be numbered.
Last year, the Republican Congress passed a bill that would have set a flat $200,000 a year in pension payments and capped other expenses at $200,000 a year per president. The cost of living increases for the pension would be tied to the same formula used to increase social security benefits.
But that $400,000 could quickly disappear under the proposed law, which cuts the pension and expense payments by a dollar for every dollar that a former president earns above $400,000. So taxpayers are off the hook entirely once a president earns $800,000 a year.
Given that most former presidents can earn significant incomes from speeches and writing books, it's very possible that the taxpayer support of former executives could become a thing of the past.
Obama vetoed that bill. If it is passed again, Trump may sign it. Just to stick it to his predecessors.
So, you can't rely on the pension. Two kids in Ivy League schools, maybe grad schools. Vacations. Staff and their expenses. Office space. Travel expenses. Your agents. Your lawyers. The domestic help. Taxes. Bills! Mad bills.
Basically, you don't want to end up like Harry Truman:
Harry Truman was so poor upon his return to Missouri that he had to move into his mother-inlaw's house. He hoped for some relief through the passage of a pension bill, but, for inexplicable reasons, Sam Rayburn, the Speaker of the House, sat on the proposal year after year. When it finally became law during the Eisenhower administration, the pension amounted to $25,000—much welcomed by Truman. The only other living ex-president was Herbert Hoover, a millionaire many times over, who had never taken a salary as president. But he accepted the pension anyway, because, he said, he did not wish to embarrass his friend, Harry Truman.
Luckily it isn't that serious for Mr. and Mrs. Obama, who, thanks to book earnings, are worth about $25 million. A new book deal could increase that to $50 million or so if sales are robust.
That could, potentially, give the president a retirement income of $2 million a year, assuming he eats into the principal and leaves nothing.
Is $2 million a year the salary of a global celebrity? Hardly. Even a super low profile president needs to make around that. In other words, Mr. Obama has to work. Or suffer the embarrassing situation of being an ex president in financial trouble. But unlike a retired CEO or aging rock star, there's not many jobs one can do when you're an ex president. Basically run your foundation, write books, serve on some corporate boards, and sort of be around. That's it.
Except of course, the speech circuit.
Now, I know there are appearances of impropriety and yes, the amounts are eye popping. There's no way to make a million dollar speech look good. Not for anyone. On the other hand, he's never going to be able to command more money per speech than he can now. If you have to take the public abuse to make sure you can keep up the lifestyle of an ex-president and ex-first lady for 25 to 35 more years or more...well then you suck it up and take the abuse. Obviously, Barack Obama is no stranger to public disapproval. Methinks he can cope.
The bottom line is that despite no longer being president, there are people who depend on Mr. Obama. They have to be paid. He has a duty to his family's financial security and any enterprises they may seek his support for. Those are the folks who are and should be at the top of his list of concerns when it comes to choosing how he earns his money. Criticism of his choices, being a public figure, are an inevitable consequence of being an ex-president. Gotta live with it.