In the history of mankind, many republics have risen, have flourished for a less or greater time, and then have fallen because their citizens lost the power of governing themselves and thereby of governing their state. TR

Wh3

Biden Considers his $379K Income Middle Class

Vice President Biden thinks he’s in the middle class, even though his income far exceeds the $250,000 threshold President Obama set for raising income taxes on the rich.

According to his 2011 tax returns, Biden and his wife Jill had an adjusted gross income of $379,000 last year. And that, Biden siggested Tuesday in remarks to the National Council of La Raza in Las Vegas, puts him squarely in the middle class:

For middle class folks like me and most of you, owning a home is maybe the single most consequential element of our existence to be able to provide for our families.

Here’s some video of Biden’s remarkable claim, in which he suggested rich guys like Romney don’t understand common men like him who are only making close to $400,000 a year:

If Biden feels he is middle class, it may be due to his apparent inability to manage his finances.

According to a Dec. 1, 2011 report by the Center for Responsive Politics, Biden actually has a negative net worth.

On the other end of the Obama administration’s net worth spectrum are Vice President Joe Biden and Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar. Both had enough liabilities to place their estimated worth in the negative.

Biden’s low estimated net worth is a result of relatively small income from assets and six liabilities which totaled  an average of $337,000. These include mortgages and home equity loans with a bank in his home state of Delaware, two lines of credit and a loan borrowed from his life insurance policy.

But if Biden considers himself middle class, Obama certainly does not. Obama’s proposal to jettison the Bush tax cuts for “the rich” pertains to those making more than $250,000 per year – whether they have somehow lost all their money or not.

203 thoughts on “Biden Considers his $379K Income Middle Class”

      1. And dont forget…
        VP Biden makes money$$$ from the US Secret Service detail that protects his mansion in Greenville, Delaware.

        (the USSS has to rent the gatehouse to the Biden estate)

        1. And his charitable giving should be held up for ridicule. Charge men
          who are will into save your life but can’t donate more than the price
          of a couple steak dinners to the wounded hero’s?

  1. Im in wonder how this neanderthal could be one heartbeat away from the Presidency… Not to say that who we have now is any better but, its a frightful thought none the less… I imagine him being rolled into the oval office,
    propped behind the desk and babbling to himself for days on end as the liberal
    press outside hails him as the next caesar in line….Yes America, we are in perilous times

  2. Pingback: Good Old “Middle Class” Joe Biden… - The Ulsterman Report

    1. What’s funny to me is the fact that the Republican party accuses Obama of class warfare, and yet when given the chance, the rank and file (as represented here) are pleased to declare themselves residents of the Middle Class of America, with Biden as an oppressive One Percenter.

      Welcome to Occupy!

      1. The reason to call him out isn’t to vilify Biden for his high income, it’s to call him out for portraying himself as middle class. He’s one of the working class Americans just trying to make ends meet unlike Mitt Romney the rich guy. That is class warfare my friend and you’re getting suckered right into it.

        1. You’re wasting your breath with DR. He’s an occupooper.
          Biden isn’t oppressive because of the amount of money he makes. He’s oppressive because he’s part of the Marxist cabal trying to take down America.

      2. Spoken like a true, condescending liberal. Face it death ray boy, your party, the Democrats engages in class warfare far more frequently than the Republicans, with the aid of the so-called objective media. Go ahead and fire back with another, cute and totally irrelevant retort. May you continue to enjoy the hope and change.

  3. Middle Class? Ha! He has no conception of what middle class and lower middle class people go through. I made less than twenty grand last year, and had to file bankruptcy. Hope and change! The Veep needs someone else to write his material. Perhaps he should consider hiring Don Rickles.

    1. I’m confused by the responses here. Are we saying that Biden is actually “rich” and won’t admit it? Because normally the people here who consider themselves in the $250K+ bracket grouse that they are NOT rich and that Obama should get off their asses.

      But if you are saying that Biden is wealthy and out of touch, then should I toe this blog’s line and tell you to get a haircut, hippy?

      1. You’re not getting are you? He is saying he’s middle class at $379,000 a year. Obama is calling people that make over $250,000 “rich”. Obama wants the “rich” to pay more taxes to support the middle class. So what is Joe? Will he be taxed to support people like himself? I’m confused. Sounds like you are too.

        1. On the contrary. The idea that the “rich” and the “middle class” cannot occupy the same sphere is the sort of thing politicians might imply, but I doubt Obama has ever used the word “rich” to define any demographic (politicians prefer the word “wealthy”.) As a matter of fact, if I ever heard a politician even acknowledge the existence of an upper class, I’d probably crap bananas.

          There is no income threshold that defines the “middle class” any more than the lower, upper or leisure classes. It is all subjective.

          1. Not at all. If you can tell me the exact income brackets that seperate the classes, and how many classes there are, and who is the legitimate authority to make those calls, i am all ears.

            I’d love a cigar! Mind if I turn it Jamaican for us?

          1. You don’t get it do you, or your just playing stupid, aren’t you. Let me help you out, if you pump your own gas you are middle-class. Joe don’t pump his own gas. There now, did that help, or do I need to come down to the Drive-Thru and explain it to you ?

          2. Don’t harsh on my working class trappings, you elitist pig, or I’ll stuff my hair net down your throat.

            (By the way, how does this Biden-the-One Percenter meme jibe with your support for Romney? I’m pretty sure he doesn’t know where his gas cap even is.)

          3. You really don’t get it, do you? We could care LESS how much the VP makes – though, working in a job being paid for by the tax payers, there should be a reasonable limit on his salary. I’m fine with where it is at the moment. The problem we have is that he is NOT in the middle class (by his/his boss’ own standard) and he is a liar and hypocrite for claiming to be. That is the problem we have with Joe. Part of it, anyway. The other, and much larger part, is that HE, and his boss, are the ones castigating those who make over 200k/250k a year as “not paying their fair share”, and yet he is squarely in this group himself and he does such despicable things as charge the government (the taxpayers, in other words) for the housing of his security detail on his private property.

      2. Huh?…

        By ANY measure, $379,000.00 AGI is FILTHY rich! Good for him but don’t claim to be middle class Joe…it just makes you look stupid…and out of touch.

  4. The real issue here is who Pres. Obama considers rich. Biden *is* middle class. If you want to split hairs and say he is upper middle class, fine. Either way he isn’t buying a mansion or private jet anytime soon.

    1. If Obama want’s to tax people who make $250,000 or more, you know, “tax the rich” plan. Then how in the world is Biden who makes $350K the middle class? Either he is rich or Obama wants to tax the middle class by his VP standards. Either way, he cant have it both ways.

      1. As I said, the issue is who Pres. Obama considers rich.

        Biden is not rich and correct in saying he is middle class. The lifestyle of a $379K person is *far* more comparable with a $50K person than a $100M person.

        1. That argument works except for the fact that Biden IS team Obama part 2. So either they are both morons or liars. I say probably both.

          1. I don’t really care for the nonsensical partisanship of it all.

            You can hate Obama and Biden equally while recognizing that the bottom end of the top 1% isn’t rich.

          2. Are you actually arguing that people in the 1% are not rich. This would put them in the top 0.1% in the world. Just because you can not buy a jet does not mean you are not rich. According to what you are saying only large business owners and executives are rich.

            Also as a I side note I do not hate Obama. I just disagree with him politically.

          3. By the standards of most of the world’s population almost everyone in America is “rich”. The whole point of this rich vs not rich argument.. in this instance is that Biden claimed to be part of the middle class while his income (which doesn’t include the perks that go along with being VP – private car, a paid for residence to use if he wishes, and so on). While he is claiming to be part of the middle class, his boss’s rhetoric, and his, and their policy initiatives specifically call people with an income level that they themselves maintain “rich”. It is hypocritical for Biden to claim that he is middle class.

        2. I don’t know about you, but I can live a WHOLE LOT better on $379K than on $50K. Those are not even comparable. The lifestyle of someone making $379K is NOT middle class.

          1. Unless your uber rich no matter what you make its never enough, when I made 25k a year I was broke now I make 125k a year and I am still broke. Though I have a nicer house and cars it seem tat I always spend what I make no matter what it is. I am sure it is the same for those that make 250k a year too, I dont consider those people rich but that what this adminastration is calling them..

    2. Joey already has a mansion Chuck. A mansion with a guest cottage overlooking a resivoir in duPont chateau land in Delaware. 7 acres, walled estate. All on a “public servants” salary. Oh, by the way, he charges REAL middle-class taxpayers rent for the secret service use of the house, who are there to protect him.

    3. you are right, his income by itself will not get him a mansion or a private jet, but as far as income levels, his pure salary puts him outside the middle class – even outside the upper middle class as defined by the government.

    4. What are you prattling about, Jim? Give me 379,000.00 AGI a year and I will most certainly be able to afford both a mansion AND a personal Jet. You are as completely out of touch as the VEEP. There is absolutely NOTHING wrong with him making 379 large a year. The problem is he thinks he’s “middle class”. Not even CLOSE. I consider myself “UPPER middle class” and I’m only bringin’ in about 80 large AGI…c’mon back to reality.

  5. This guy truely has to be from Mars. I mean he doesn’t know what it is to be middle class. It’s clear that between both Biden and Obama they have no clue. How can anyone with just an incling of intelligence believe anything either of these guys say, what a couple of baffoons.

  6. Pingback: Biden Considers His $379K Income Middle Class « InvestmentWatch

  7. Wait, having a home is a more consequential element of our existence than health care? Then why doesn’t the government mandate a minimum level of housing that everyone should receive? (You know it’s coming…)

  8. Wow. dude is clearly wayyyyy upper middle- to lower-upper. if he’s making 300k+ and thinks he’s middle class he’s just not good with money.

      1. I think the moderator needs to look at TCP’s comment and pull it down. I thought we were commenting on Biden’s financial situation, not to sound like a Democrat and call someone an offensive name.

  9. It’s not just the salary he makes… Realisticaly with all the perks and freebees his job offers he can live like someone earning upwards of a million per year.

  10. I guess I need to reevaluate my understanding of the classes in this class warfare that obummer and biden has declared on the American people.

    $379,000 is now middle class, so if the “poor” don’t have to pay taxes then we need to raise that poor bar a little, say to $175,000.00 in combined income and no one at or under that amount is required to pay taxes.

    On a side note, everyone talks about of stupid biden is, so what does that make obummer? He is the one that pick him as his VP. Makes you wonder about his decision making abilities.

    1. Why am I paying taxes??? I’m single, make under 100,000 (way under), so why should I pay taxes. Let the government idiots pay taxes and the rest of the normal folks be exempt.

  11. Either you are completely clueless or you are exposing your strong RW bias.
    Joe Biden IS middle class by any definition. He and his wife have exceeded middle income classification. You are confusing the two. Peruse his tax returns and you’ll notice he has paid his fair share.
    Love to read the non sensical and incoherent comments on here from those who aspire. Carry on!

    1. I make $18 hr and see myself as middle class, Joe makes $180 hr and see’s himself as the same? Doc I think you are the one who is a bit incoherent……….

    2. Dr.? What did you get your doctorate in…and where? Even if it was Ivy League, that institution has clearly become a liberal diploma mill.

      The middle class does not include those who either live in the luxury and style of Vice President Biden, nor do they make the amount of money which VP Biden and his wife make.

      You claim he and his wife have paid their fair share. Then how can you and those of your liberal ilk claim that those who have paid more than Biden still haven’t paid theirs? The fact of the matter is, a person’s “fair share,” is pro rata, not some bogus amount based on how much they make. If we really want to talk about what is, “fair,” then the rich should pay less than the poor because the rich are the only ones who are actually contributing.

      I don’t make $100K a year and the government taxes me into submission…not to mention all the ridiculous fees I am required to pay each year just to maintain my professional licenses so that I can continue to work and contribute.

      What ever happened to the concept of FREEDOM? I can’t figure out why black Americans would ever vote for anyone who advocates a policy which reduces freedom. Any and all government intrusion into our lives curtails our freedom to live and act as we choose. I am not a libertarian, as I believe some government is necessary if we are to live in a peaceful society, but it should only amount to smallest amount of government as possible.

      When one relies on the government for sustenance they have traded their freedom for comfort at the expense of their fellow man. In doing so, they have become slaves to the government, which takes from someone else something which they have earned by industry, and given to another who has not earned it. There is a legal term for this…it’s called stealing.

    3. dont forget the money$ the Biden’s make from the US Secret Service detail that rents the gatehouse at their Delaware mansion, to protect their mansion.

  12. Last year Biden reported $21,000 income from RENT he charges the Secret Service to station a protective detail at his home compound in Delaware. So, we pay for the protective detail, i have no problem with that…but Biden personally profits from what amounts to a gift from the US taxpayer.

    I have a serious problem with that and suspect this corrupt double dipping would be a cause celebre all over the major news media if Biden were a Republican

  13. The Washington Liberal Elite Democrats have always considered any American who has any money in their pockets, to be wealthy. Those Washington Lib Elite Democrats can not get their hands deep enough into our pockets. If you have one penny to your name…….they believe it’s more than you are entitled to and they want it.

  14. What is sad is that the class division that he and Obama use works for too many people. “No fault of your own”? If I make unsound financial decisions I thought I was responsible. I and many others have lost over a third of our investments in equities but no one is helping us. If you buy a house with no money down and have no cushion to get you through events we have experienced the last 4 years you should try to find a way to get yourself out of the mess. But good old Joe and Barack want you to be comfortable being a victim.

  15. Middle Class?? Is he really that brain dead??? I personally know very few who make over 100,000 – so I guess me and everyone around me is lower class. Democrats are all idiots. At least the Republicans know they have money and flaunt it (yeah, so they’re no better in the whole scheme of things). All of our government leaders need to take a good hard look at the “real society, working class folks” to better understand our plight.

    1. yeah no wonder why he is zero help in this budget business. cant handle your $400k a year… doesn’t that perfectly qualify you to handle ALL of our tax $$

  16. Pingback: Michelle Malkin » Romney to announce running mate sooner rather than later?

  17. No one with a compound in DE like he has lives on $379K! What a bunch of baloney. Plus he is on Council on Foreign Relations, so based on what he gives to charity (not much), wouldn’t be surprise if the Veep also has off shore accounts hello :).

  18. Must be tough to get by on just $30K+ a month. Thank God his living, traveling, eating and entertainment expenses are subsidized by the benevolent government (aka us idiots in the 51% who pay taxes). I’ll keep him in my prayers. Dear Lord, please help this buffoon get through the day. Amen.

  19. I honestly can’t say what is more ominous, destructive and hopeless – obama as president or this idiot as #2 in succession. I guess this pres- vp duo presents a perfect example of a “can’t win” situation. The only improvement in the prospects is that #3 is now boehner and not the 3rd stooge, pelosi.

  20. Let’s see, Obama says he won’t raise taxes on the middle-class folks, but he and his party set that threshold at $250,000 a year per household. But Biden says he’s “middle-class” earning almost $380,000 a year. So who’s the liar Joe? You or the President? We expect an answer and soon.

  21. Pingback: Romney to announce running mate sooner rather than later? | Inspirations, dreams, humaniora

  22. wonder if his ole buddy Obama will write in some kind of healthcare bill magic that will keep his taxes (and congress etc) at the lower rate. why stop being ridiculous now, right?

    1. You are just an idiot. Mitt doesn’t speak for the middle class, he is trying to appeal to the middle class. He is running for President!!!!!

      If what you say is true then “O” thinks he speaks for poor people!!!

  23. You people that claim Biden is middle class are once again making statements based on your feelings rather than facts. Less than 3% of Americans make more than $250,000. So Biden is in the top 97% of earners in the US, that is not middle class. The average income right now in the US is around $46,000, that is middle income.

  24. On what planet has Joe Biden been dwelling? And with an AGI near 400K, how does he think he’s going to get struggling middle-classers to believe he feels their pain? Having Biden a heartbeat away from the presidency is yet another reason to vote against Obama; he’s dumber than Dan Quayle ever thought of being.

  25. Old Joe and his little paycheck of 379K and his 300 dollar charity donation just shows that he is one of the middle class.

  26. Another great example of Establishment fiscal responsibleness. Takes in all that dough and he’s still in the hole. Good thing that when OurBumma gets called out for being not elligible to be an elected official and a out and out fraud—— that foot-in-the-mouth Biden will only be our president for a very short time before he gets the boot also. Then we can get an honest guy as our next President, for a change. Initials: Ron Paul

  27. It doesn’t matter what Joe the clown says, most voters have already made up their minds to vote for Obama or Romney or to stay home.

    Decrying the hypocrisy of Biden and his ilk is like trying to teach a pig to sing – it’s a waste of your time and just annoys the pig.

  28. Pingback: Biden Considers his $379K Income Middle Class « Evil of indifference

Comments are closed.