The Washington Post fact-checked President Barack Obama's statement when speaking at the poverty summit at Georgetown University concerning the income inequality between hedge fund managers and kindergarten teachers:
President Obama: The top 25 hedge fund managers made more than all the kindergarten teachers in the country.
Big statement. If you're reading this diary you probably suspect it's a true statement, and you would be right.
The most recent government data on teacher employment covers the 2011-2012 school year. The Education Department's tallies of all teachers in elementary and secondary schools nationwide found that they made about $56,600 that year. But kindergarten teachers are a different group. For that, we turn to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. In 2012, the nation had about 158,000 kindergarten teachers, excluding whose who work in special education. The average salary was $53,480.
So. What about the other end of the spectrum? An annual ranking of top hedge fund managers found that the 25 most successful pulled in $11.62 billion in 2014. ("Last year turned out to be the worst one for this elite group of investors since the stock market meltdown of 2008," Institutional Investors' Stephen Taub writes, adding, "How bad was it?" apparently without irony.)
The final tally? A total of 25 hedge fund managers raked in $11.6 billion, while these 150+ thousand
glorified babysitters pulled down $8.5 billion.
Obama's remarks were explaining why he had suggested that hedge fund managers get a higher tax carried interest. Obama explained that one of the reactions he got was a hedge fund manager equating Obama's suggestion with Hitler invading Poland.
Stay classy, rich guys. Stay classy.
Video of Obama at the poverty summit at Georgetown below the fold.