FY-Eye: Should Obama Get a Raise?

By Ed O'Keefe

The Eye's Web browsing just took him to an interesting piece by veteran CBS Radio News White House reporter Mark Knoller, who wonders aloud whether President Obama -- as the federal government's CEO -- deserves a raise. He considers the issue following publication of a New York Times survey of executive compensation.

Writes Knoller:

"No one runs for the White House for the pay. But the president of the United States is a CEO in his own right. He’s got 300 million shareholders and an alternately compliant and irascible Congress that views itself as the Board of Directors. If the U.S. government were a private corporation, it would make AIG look well-managed and would have gone bankrupt years ago. Check the profit and loss statement. Barack Obama presides over an operation with a $4 trillion budget but just $2.1-trillion in revenue."

He even whipped up a mock proxy statement on Boss Obama, parts of which appear below:

Salary: $400,000 a year, plus expenses.

Room and board: 132-room mansion on 18 acres of prime, highly-maintained and protected real estate in the heart of the nation’s capital. Includes: exercise room, outdoor pool and spa, dual-lane bowling alley, movie theater, putting green, tennis and basketball courts.

Other Perks: The finest fleet of executive aircraft in the world; operated and maintained by the U.S. Air Force including Boeing 747s, 757s and Gulfstream IIIs. In addition, a squadron of 19 U.S. Marine Corps helicopters available around the clock. Also, a fleet of heavily-armored limousines and other vehicles plus a small army of the best-trained bodyguards in the world.

Household Staff: About 90 residential staffers, including butlers, valets, housekeepers, a florist, five chefs and a chief usher who’s a retired U.S. Coast Guard Rear Admiral.

United States Government

Employees: 1.9 million civilian employees; 1.4-million active-duty military.

Budget: $4.0 trillion

Revenue: $2.1 trillion

Deficit: $1.84 trillion (CBO)

So does Obama -- the boss of millions of federal workers -- deserve a raise? Read Mark Knoller's item and leave your thoughts there or in the comments section below.