Obama's Tall Tale About Paying Off Student Loans Until 2004 Starts Falling Apart

Posted by Jammie on Apr 26, 2012 at 8:40 am

Like most anything that dribbles out of his piehole, nothing is quite what it appears to be. Take the case of the story of this very well-off couple raking in about a half-million dollars a years struggling over a decade after leaving law school to pay off student loans.

Why don’t I believe this guy? Well, I guess now that he’s manufactured a new “crisis” he’s got to keep telling this lame story.

As Lynn Sweet of the Chicago Tribune wrote during the last campaign, Obama worked his way through college and law school – including jobs selling trinkets, making sandwiches at a deli in Hawaii and working as a telemarketer pitching subscriptions to The New York Times. Michelle’s early jobs included work as a camp counselor and a typist/assistant for the American Medical Association. In the early years, nobody would call the Obamas rich.

But according to their tax returns, which are available on the White House website, the Obamas had a healthy, six-figure income by the year 2000 (the earliest return available). And for at least two years before his loans were paid off, Obama, by his own definition, made so much they were wealthy enough to pay higher taxes.

Here’s a rundown of the president’s income, according to his tax returns, in the years before he paid off his student loans:

2004: $207,647

2003: $238,327

2002: $259,394

2001: $272,759

2000: $240,505

In 2001 and 2002, the Obamas would have met the $250,000 standard the president has set for those wealthy enough to afford to pay more taxes.

It’s also notable that the Obamas didn’t claim deductions for student loans on any of those years, most likely because they made too much money to qualify for the student loan deduction.

Since Obama is the most secretive president we’ve ever had, don’t expect the truth to emerge any time soon. But it’s at least a pleasant surprise to see ABC News become skeptical. Now if only the other 99% of the media would do the same.