Rick Santorum’s Tax Return Exposes His Phony Claim to be a Blue Collar Representative

Maybe His Grandfather was Poor, But Mr. Santorum Makes a $Million and Is Worth Millions

To listen to the campaign oratory of Rick Santorum is to come away with the impression that he is just a “Blue Collar” Joe out there trying to make a living just like the rest of us.  The national media accepts this as a legitimate part of Mr. Santorum’s personality,  never questioning whether or not it is true.

It turns out, of course, that it is not true.  Mr. Santorum left the Senate after the 2006 election and he has released his tax returns for the years 2007-10 so we can all see how well or how poorly he is doing after he became “unemployed”.  It turns out, that Mr. Santorum is very wealthy.

First of all Mr. Santorum’s income is around $1 million a year.  That puts him way up in the top 1% of all families in the U. S.  As far as his housing is concerned,

They live in a four-bedroom northern Virginia house on five acres assessed at $1.4 million in 2010.

And Mr. Santorum is quite the real estate investor

Santorum owns five rental properties in State College, Pa., worth between $500,000 and $1.25 million, but also with as much as $750,000 in mortgage debt, according to his presidential disclosure. His taxes show that he took mortgage and depreciation deductions on those properties, and also that he sold more than $23,000 worth of stocks in 2010.

As far as making money, the former Senator has done what all former national office holders do, he’s was out there selling influence and contacts

After his Senate defeat, Santorum did not register as a lobbyist, but he aided corporate and other interests as a consultant. He was paid $142,500 by Consol Energy, a Pennsylvania-based energy firm with numerous Appalachian coal mines. The firm has lobbied against Obama administration efforts to tighten limits on greenhouse gas emissions.

Santorum also was paid $65,000 by the American Continental Group, a D.C. lobbying firm with an assortment of corporate clients, and $125,000 by the Clapham Group, a Virginia firm that aids religious rights organizations. He benefited from media work, earning $230,000 for appearances on Fox News and more than $80,000 for stints as a radio commentator.

Santorum was also paid nearly $400,000 in compensation and stock options as a board director at Universal Health Services, a hospital management firm, after he left the Senate in 2006. He also owns up to $250,000 in Universal stock. As a senator, Santorum had sponsored several unsuccessful bills that would have secured more Medicaid funding for hospitals run by Universal and other medical firms in Puerto Rico.

Yep, that’s what all of the blue collar workers are doing, how they earn their living.  Just like Mr. Santorum, whom the press continues to laud for his “blue collar” values.