John Kerry Donates 5 Percent Of Salary To Charity

Secretary of State John Kerry, the richest member of President Barack Obama’s cabinet, has joined other members of the administration in donating five percent of his salary in the spirit of sharing the pain thousands of federal workers will feel when they start to furlough work in the upcoming months. He follows similar gestures by the President and Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel.

The Treasury will not see Kerry’s money. Instead, Kerry is donating his 5 percent to a charity for department employees. Impressive. So, how much money is that?

Kerry will bring in $183,500 from his government salary this year. That means his donation amounts to $9,175. That is no small amount of change, unless you try to divide it among all the workers who might need help, but that is besides the point.

When Kerry disclosed his finances for 2011, he was worth $184 million. His wife, Teresa Heinz Kerry, is heiress to the Heinz ketchup fortune. She is reportedly worth over $1 billion. The Kerrys make the Obamas look relatively poor. With money like that, what’s nine thousand?

Again, besides the point.

White House officials are taking turns offering up portions of their salaries. Hagel got the ball rolling with 20 percent. Obama put down five percent. Kerry matched him with another five percent. Congress, on the other hand, remains pretty mum. Kudos go out to South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham, Alaska Senator Mark Begich, Utah Senator Mike Lee, and Washington Senator Jay Rockefeller for having all expressed their intentions to give up a portion of their salaries, but that amounts to just four percent of the Senate. The branch of government most responsible for imposing the sequester budget cuts on everyone else finds itself undeserving of a pay cut.

Congress does not vote to cut its own pay, but it understands a cut in votes. Still, donating a portion of one’s salary would be more of a symbolic gesture than anything, and failure to do so is not likely to jeopardize anyone’s job. Perhaps Obama could promote a few senators to serve Kerry overseas and allow a wave of eager candidates to donate portions of their salaries as they seek to fill the newly opened seats. Too much?