Romney says he'd forgo president's salary
LACONIA, N.H. -- Campaigning in New Hampshire yesterday, Mitt Romney said he would not take a salary if elected president and would instead donate the money to charity.
"When I got started, I went to school and I never anticipated that I'd be as financially successful as I was, and then my business went far better than I expected it would," Romney said at a question-and-answer session at insurer Liberty Mutual in Dover, according to the Associated Press.
Romney, who did not take a salary during his four years as Massachusetts governor, later told reporters he would probably accept the $400,000 presidential salary but give the money away. "I presume I would take the salary and then I would donate at least that amount -- or more -- to charity," Romney said, the AP reported.
Aides have said Romney's net worth reaches into the hundreds of millions of dollars, but a clearer snapshot of his finances will emerge when he files financial disclosure documents with the federal government in the coming weeks. Romney, who has given millions to charity in the past, is believed to be the wealthiest candidate in the 2008 race.
Romney's wealth derives in large part from his career at Bain Capital, a private equity firm in Boston that he helped start as a spinoff of Bain Consulting.
Villaraigosa was set to announce his endorsement today, joining Clinton at a campaign rally at the University of California-Los Angeles, two Democrats told the Associated Press.
Clinton campaign officials have actively sought Villaraigosa's backing, even enlisting former president Bill Clinton recently to woo Villaraigosa over dinner at a tony New York steak house. (AP)
Bemoaning a healthcare "cost crisis," Obama said it was unacceptable that 47 million in the country are uninsured while others are struggling to pay their medical bills. He said the time is ripe for reforming the healthcare system despite an inability to do so in the past, most notably when rival Hillary Clinton pursued major changes during her husband's presidency.
"We can do this," Obama said in Iowa City at the University of Iowa's medical school.
Obama's plan retains the private insurance system but injects additional money to pay for expanding coverage. Those who cannot afford coverage would get a subsidy on a sliding scale depending on their income, and virtually all businesses would have to share in the cost of coverage.
Obama , a senator from Illinois, did not mention that his plan would cost the US Treasury an estimated $50 billion to $65 billion a year once fully implemented. That information was provided in a memo written by three outside specialists and distributed by the campaign after his speech.
The analysts also said Obama could pay for his plan mostly through steps that the candidate has already said he would take -- allowing President Bush's tax cuts on dividends and capital gains and on those making more than about $250,000 a year to expire in 2010 instead of acting to make them permanent.
The rest of the $65 billion funding could come by raising taxes on inheritances worth more than $7 million. (AP)
In Alaska, caucuses will be held Feb. 5, 2008. In 2004, Alaska Democrats held their caucus in March, while Republicans waited until the end of May to hold their convention.
In Georgia, Republican Governor Sonny Perdue signed a bill yesterday that pushed the state's primaries up by a month, from March 4 to Feb. 5. (AP)
