QOTW: Should First Lady's of US be paid?

iVillage Member
Registered: 02-07-2005
QOTW: Should First Lady's of US be paid?
11
Mon, 01-05-2009 - 8:47am

Should our first ladies be paid a salary in this day and age of gender equality? WDYT?


Discuss.


(This question was asked on the Pregnancy and Parenting Team board. It got some pretty different responses. I wondered your thoughts.)


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iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Mon, 01-05-2009 - 9:08am

Sure, immediately after *I* begin getting my salary for the same supportive job to my husband. I won't deny she has an important role, but so does every wife, just less public! Pay the First Lady for her "job" and you should pay me for mine.

No, she should not be paid, *she* was not elected, he was.

Where on earth would that money from that come from anyway???????

The thing that gets me is that some First Ladies choose to have more of a backseat role, others want to be in the thick of decision making (which I object to anyway, unless they have an official appointment), so how would this work anyway, would only the more active get paid, or would we make First Lady an official paid job? How would that be defined, what are the roles? You've got your Clinton's who think FL should make essential decisions and L. Bush who is more of the ambassador role, etc, etc. Too complicated if you ask me!!

I know, let's complicate government even more, that would be helpful.

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Avatar for sesamemom98
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Mon, 01-05-2009 - 9:58am

I agree with Nancy--when I get paid for supporting my hubby, then she should get paid for supporting hers.

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iVillage Member
Registered: 02-07-2005
Mon, 01-05-2009 - 10:04am
What gets me is ... why do the citizens EXPECT the FL's to do anything? I hear commentary about this FL did this while that FL didn't do anything. Also, while the election was taking place there were discussions about if SO and SO is elected his wife will do BLAH BLAH BLAH! Why is that expected?


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Community Leader
Registered: 07-26-1999
Mon, 01-05-2009 - 10:17am
We discussed this a few weeks back on the April '07 board and my response was pretty much the same as Nancy's is.
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iVillage Member
Registered: 03-27-2003
Mon, 01-05-2009 - 11:50am

I agree with the other ladies.

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Avatar for sesamemom98
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Mon, 01-05-2009 - 12:46pm

Nicole, that's a good question!


My guess is that, once a First Lady decided to "step out of her DH's shadow" & do her own thing, people assumed that every FL after her would be the same way and/or want to do the same things.

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iVillage Member
Registered: 05-27-1998
Mon, 01-05-2009 - 1:06pm

No, I think she should be committed to an asylum!

Community Leader
Registered: 07-26-1999
Mon, 01-05-2009 - 1:27pm

But seriously, I do think her role is a lot different from that of other wives. She does have official duties that go with her DH's job. I'm just not sure she should be paid. Any woman who starts down a political road knows what's she's getting into, and presumably finds it rewarding enough.


I think its sort of equated to a general or commander or higher up's wife in the military.

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iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Mon, 01-05-2009 - 5:28pm

Interesting question!

I think she is paid in a way. She has housekeepers, cooks, nannies and chaffeurs, personal hairdressers and style consultants and wealth and prestige.

But yes, she also has a hard and horrible job, and I would never want to be first lady, LOL!!

I don't think she should be paid monetarily unless she's in an official elected advisory capacity (Which has never happened, officially anyway). Like Nancy said, I would LOVE to be paid for supporting my husband. I put up with his horrible hours, I worked to put him through medical school, and I'm endlessly emotionally supportive when he needs that after a hard day. . . But I guess my payment comes in other ways, like the First Lady's. So I won't complain ;)




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iVillage Member
Registered: 03-25-2003
Mon, 01-05-2009 - 6:12pm

I saw the report on this recently in the news...and I like the way Laura Bush said, "I didn't get elected, so I shouldn't get paid."

She's right...we don't elect the First Lady (if that were the case, my votes may have gone differently this election and others...LOL).





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