Ex-presidents have huge expense accounts

Here's a great retirement perk if you can get it -- the unlimited expense accounts of former U.S. presidents, all of whom would be doing very nicely without this taxpayer-funded help.

In fiscal year 2010-11, the four living ex-presidents had a combined $3.8 million in taxpayer-paid expenses, including these particulars reported by Jonathan Karl of ABC News:

• $579,000 in office rent for Bill Clinton (who has an estimated net worth of $38 million).
• $80,000 in phone bills for George W. Bush (net worth of $20 million).
• $15,000 in postage for Jimmy Carter (net worth a relatively modest $7 million).

Total expenses paid for by taxpayers that year:

• Bush the Younger, just over $1.3 million.
• Clinton, nearly $1.1 million.
• Bush the Elder, $830,000 (whose net worth, by the way, is reportedly about $23 million).
• Carter, $518,000.

It's also been widely reported that George W. Bush made $15 million from speeches that year and Clinton was paid $10 million to speak. (Post continues below.)

My, how things have changed since Harry Truman left office; his only government payment was a $112-a-month Army pension. Because Truman struggled, a law was enacted in 1958 to give former presidents a $25,000-a-year pension plus $50,000 for office expenses. Since then, it's gotten out of hand, don't you think?

U.S. Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, introduced a bill that would pay ex-presidents an annual pension of $200,000 -- about what they get now -- plus a $200,000 allowance. However, explains the Los Angeles Times:

Under the legislation, the $200,000 annual allowance would be reduced dollar for dollar if a former president makes more than $400,000 in outside income. If a former president makes $600,000 or more in outside income, the ex-president would receive the $200,000 pension but no public allowance.

The legislation would give a former president's surviving spouse a $100,000 annual allowance, up from the current $20,000.

Future increases would be tied to the Social Security cost of living bump. Their Secret Service protection, which the Daily Mail says costs $20 million a year -- is not included in these costs and would not be affected.

• Smart Spending on the go: Get our app for Android or iPhone
  

"There's little reason why American taxpayers should be subsidizing these former presidents when they're doing fine on their own," Chaffetz said in a press release. "This legislation modernizes an old law and saves the taxpayer millions of dollars in the process."

Could the ex-prezes make do on limited expenses without digging into their personal accounts? After all, the Daily Mail also says:

In 2009, Clinton's 8,300-square-foot Harlem office cost taxpayers $516,000. Carter's 4,200-square-foot office in Atlanta cost $102,000. George H.W. Bush's 4,600-square-foot Houston (office) cost $175,000, CBS News reported.

A more rational approach would be to provide their pension plus capped allocations for security, office rental, transportation detail, and misc expenses not to exceed a maximum amount of say $1,000,000 per year. There is something wrong with our nation if we're unwilling to provide that level of support.

On the other hand, a commenter at NPR station WBUR said:

No one is going to pay for MY "after retirement job" office when I retire. If the "next job" can't pay its own bills, time to get a different "next job."

Could this be a spending bill that people from both sides of the aisle could agree upon?

More on MSN Money:

• 4 signs your pension is in trouble
• 5 lesser-known retirement plans
• Are you saving enough for retirement?
• 3 days that could swing the presidential election
• Prudential signs pension agreement with GM
• How much money will my 401k provide?