Anonymous
Post 07/16/2018 13:33     Subject: Kavanaugh's finances
Anonymous wrote:I had a job that involved reviewing the financial disclosure statements of nominees in multiple (both R and D administrations), and, in the beginning, I was surprised by how little most nominees had in the way of savings. There were always the few very wealthy types, who'd been in the private sector a long time, or had family money, but the ones who'd been working on Capital Hill or other branches of government most of their career generally didn't have much.

This is not a new insight, but many people on this board have a warped view of how most Americans live.


Very interesting post.

I'm curious if you think that it's necessary to disclose these judges' salaries to the entire world (as opposed to a committee of even 1000 people who could opine on any conflicts of interest)?

I have no position on whether Brett Kavanaugh would be a good Justice, but do kind of feel like these judges should get some measure of privacy (while also having their finances vetted).
Anonymous
Post 07/16/2018 13:30     Subject: Kavanaugh's finances
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:His finances is a non-story. It’s not fake news, but context is missing. The cc debt did not carry over from 2016 to 2017. It was temporary. Lots of people use their cards for all expenses and then pay it off every month. Not a big deal.


It carried over for a decade before 2017, though. What exactly made it suddenly go poof, I wonder?


His 25k Harvard teaching gig?
TSP loan?
Mortgage refinancing?


He's had the Harvard gig for years.
He's reported the TSP loan every year since 2006.
He refinanced his mortgage for the 2nd time in 2015.

Nope, try again. His CC balances were at their highest in 2016 and then in 2017 they were all gone.
He cleaned it up quickly. Why? How?




Because he knew he had a shot at being nominated and the debt would be an issue. How is a better question.


And I agree with other posters that his finances are run-of-the-mill American norm of living beyond your means and not a disqualifier in and of themselves.


Yeah, but it's just odd. He came from enough money, earned plenty, had access to a lot of resources. Yet he lacked judgment until he had to show his slate. Maybe I think a supreme court justice should be held to a higher standard then the rest of us schlumps. It's not disqualifying, just off-putting.



As I live in Chevy Chase, I can kind of identify with his finances. He grew up with a certain standard of living, and he wants to give that to his children. Yet it takes serious money to do that, and most people in CC do have either (a) good incomes; or (b) family money. He's well-paid as a federal judge ($220K) but the typical wage-earner in CC has more HHI than that.

As for how the debts went away suddenly, I wonder if he might have asked his parents for the money. (I know people who receive a cash gift each year from their elderly parents -- I think it's $14,000 or so that you can give (per spouse) to avoid the gift tax.) This is pretty common stuff.
Anonymous
Post 07/16/2018 12:58     Subject: Kavanaugh's finances
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:His finances is a non-story. It’s not fake news, but context is missing. The cc debt did not carry over from 2016 to 2017. It was temporary. Lots of people use their cards for all expenses and then pay it off every month. Not a big deal.


It carried over for a decade before 2017, though. What exactly made it suddenly go poof, I wonder?


His 25k Harvard teaching gig?
TSP loan?
Mortgage refinancing?


He's had the Harvard gig for years.
He's reported the TSP loan every year since 2006.
He refinanced his mortgage for the 2nd time in 2015.

Nope, try again. His CC balances were at their highest in 2016 and then in 2017 they were all gone.
He cleaned it up quickly. Why? How?




Because he knew he had a shot at being nominated and the debt would be an issue. How is a better question.


And I agree with other posters that his finances are run-of-the-mill American norm of living beyond your means and not a disqualifier in and of themselves.


Yeah, but it's just odd. He came from enough money, earned plenty, had access to a lot of resources. Yet he lacked judgment until he had to show his slate. Maybe I think a supreme court justice should be held to a higher standard then the rest of us schlumps. It's not disqualifying, just off-putting.
Anonymous
Post 07/16/2018 11:54     Subject: Kavanaugh's finances
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:His finances is a non-story. It’s not fake news, but context is missing. The cc debt did not carry over from 2016 to 2017. It was temporary. Lots of people use their cards for all expenses and then pay it off every month. Not a big deal.


It carried over for a decade before 2017, though. What exactly made it suddenly go poof, I wonder?


His 25k Harvard teaching gig?
TSP loan?
Mortgage refinancing?


He's had the Harvard gig for years.
He's reported the TSP loan every year since 2006.
He refinanced his mortgage for the 2nd time in 2015.

Nope, try again. His CC balances were at their highest in 2016 and then in 2017 they were all gone.
He cleaned it up quickly. Why? How?



Because he knew he had a shot at being nominated and the debt would be an issue. How is a better question.


And I agree with other posters that his finances are run-of-the-mill American norm of living beyond your means and not a disqualifier in and of themselves.
Anonymous
Post 07/16/2018 11:38     Subject: Kavanaugh's finances
Anonymous wrote:I had a job that involved reviewing the financial disclosure statements of nominees in multiple (both R and D administrations), and, in the beginning, I was surprised by how little most nominees had in the way of savings. There were always the few very wealthy types, who'd been in the private sector a long time, or had family money, but the ones who'd been working on Capital Hill or other branches of government most of their career generally didn't have much.

This is not a new insight, but many people on this board have a warped view of how most Americans live.


I don't think so. Many people on this board understand that most people don't have savings, carry balances on their ccs, etc. But we all know what people are supposed to do, which, as you noted, many don't, including this Supreme Court nominee.
Anonymous
Post 07/16/2018 08:52     Subject: Kavanaugh's finances
Anonymous wrote:I had a job that involved reviewing the financial disclosure statements of nominees in multiple (both R and D administrations), and, in the beginning, I was surprised by how little most nominees had in the way of savings. There were always the few very wealthy types, who'd been in the private sector a long time, or had family money, but the ones who'd been working on Capital Hill or other branches of government most of their career generally didn't have much.

This is not a new insight, but many people on this board have a warped view of how most Americans live.

Would the sudden elimination of tens of thousands in CC debt raise red flags? (Btw, I totally agree with you that DCUM has generally a very warped understanding of the personal finances of the vast majority of Americans.)
Anonymous
Post 07/16/2018 07:54     Subject: Kavanaugh's finances
Anonymous wrote:I had a job that involved reviewing the financial disclosure statements of nominees in multiple (both R and D administrations), and, in the beginning, I was surprised by how little most nominees had in the way of savings. There were always the few very wealthy types, who'd been in the private sector a long time, or had family money, but the ones who'd been working on Capital Hill or other branches of government most of their career generally didn't have much.

This is not a new insight, but many people on this board have a warped view of how most Americans live.


That’s for sure.
Anonymous
Post 07/16/2018 07:50     Subject: Kavanaugh's finances
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:His finances is a non-story. It’s not fake news, but context is missing. The cc debt did not carry over from 2016 to 2017. It was temporary. Lots of people use their cards for all expenses and then pay it off every month. Not a big deal.


It carried over for a decade before 2017, though. What exactly made it suddenly go poof, I wonder?


His 25k Harvard teaching gig?
TSP loan?
Mortgage refinancing?


He's had the Harvard gig for years.
He's reported the TSP loan every year since 2006.
He refinanced his mortgage for the 2nd time in 2015.

Nope, try again. His CC balances were at their highest in 2016 and then in 2017 they were all gone.
He cleaned it up quickly. Why? How?
Anonymous
Post 07/16/2018 05:26     Subject: Kavanaugh's finances
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:His finances is a non-story. It’s not fake news, but context is missing. The cc debt did not carry over from 2016 to 2017. It was temporary. Lots of people use their cards for all expenses and then pay it off every month. Not a big deal.


It carried over for a decade before 2017, though. What exactly made it suddenly go poof, I wonder?


His 25k Harvard teaching gig?
TSP loan?
Mortgage refinancing?
Anonymous
Post 07/16/2018 01:28     Subject: Kavanaugh's finances
Anonymous wrote:His finances is a non-story. It’s not fake news, but context is missing. The cc debt did not carry over from 2016 to 2017. It was temporary. Lots of people use their cards for all expenses and then pay it off every month. Not a big deal.


It carried over for a decade before 2017, though. What exactly made it suddenly go poof, I wonder?
Anonymous
Post 07/16/2018 00:36     Subject: Kavanaugh's finances
I had a job that involved reviewing the financial disclosure statements of nominees in multiple (both R and D administrations), and, in the beginning, I was surprised by how little most nominees had in the way of savings. There were always the few very wealthy types, who'd been in the private sector a long time, or had family money, but the ones who'd been working on Capital Hill or other branches of government most of their career generally didn't have much.

This is not a new insight, but many people on this board have a warped view of how most Americans live.
Anonymous
Post 07/15/2018 22:21     Subject: Kavanaugh's finances
Anonymous wrote:His finances is a non-story. It’s not fake news, but context is missing. The cc debt did not carry over from 2016 to 2017. It was temporary. Lots of people use their cards for all expenses and then pay it off every month. Not a big deal.



Well, year to year is different than paying off every month. Plus, he seems to have pretty low savings/investments for someone with his background. Doesn't give me confidence in his judgment. (But then I'm likely biased too because I think his politics are whacked).
Anonymous
Post 07/15/2018 21:41     Subject: Kavanaugh's finances
His finances is a non-story. It’s not fake news, but context is missing. The cc debt did not carry over from 2016 to 2017. It was temporary. Lots of people use their cards for all expenses and then pay it off every month. Not a big deal.
Anonymous
Post 07/15/2018 20:45     Subject: Re:Kavanaugh's finances
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Everyone in this thread is so dumb that it is not funny.

As an immigrant, what this man has done is nothing but admirable. He went to Yale for BA and JD and he could have made boat load of money but he rather devotes his life to public service.

My company CEO graduated with BA and JD from Harvard and his total compensation was 4.5M last year and has been 4M+ for the past five years.

With Kavanaugh's pedigree and connection from his days working in the white house, I am sure he will make at least 4M/year if he chooses to but yet you do not define success by wealth. He definitely gets my respect.

You also know that his wife was a personal assistant to former President Bush for many years. If she wanted to, she could have a very cushy job making at least 1M just from that connection but they chose not to. Even more respect to them both.


I really rather doubt that she could get a job paying her 1 mill or more. Sorry, but no.


Actually she could have. She could have easily fetched 500k+ and then bonus on K street. Happens all the time.


Doing what?


If you have to ask, you don’t know much about DC. I know someone from a previous admin who had nearly same job and now pulls 7 figures because the former POTUS saw to it.


As I suspected, you don’t actually know.


Actually, I do. But saying what someone was doing to pull 7 figures would give them a way. There are only 3 or 4 such people around these days. Think of it this way: important people like people who have considerable experience dealing with the likes of other important people.


lol. you are 100% full of crap.


No, I am 100% not. Take your laughter and go hang out on Whitehaven for a while and you can bump into one of these folks.
Anonymous
Post 07/15/2018 19:24     Subject: Kavanaugh's finances
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:With his track record, he could very quickly start earning $$$ in the private sector if he chose to do so. I'm not sure how worried I'd be about my finances if I had that kind of outside option.


+1

If he really needed money, he could go to the private sector and instantly double, or triple(?), his income overnight. If he socked away the difference, he would be all caught up in a few years based on DCUM standards.

Plus, he could ask his wife to get a better paying job and she could easily double or triple her income. Some people want to enjoy life as they go through it. Looks like he's made some choices that allow his family to do that - good for him.


Are you sure about this?? He has CREDIT CARD debt or did. Seems stressful.


Or he just uses credit cards for living expenses or a large debt people paid him back for. There's no evidence that he has sustained large credit card debt. He had a large credit card balance at some point. I have $15k on credit cards right now and zero credit card debt that will carry over the month



Is this really how credit reporting works for credit cards? I thought it was only reported if it’s a balance past 30 days. In other words if I charge $100 today it doesn’t show up on my credit report until I receive a bill and don’t pay the $100 in full and start paying interest for it.



Yes, I think it is. We had our insurance rates all go up once because they check credit every three years and at that time, we had put a large home improvement project on the card. Paid it off within the month, but when they pulled it, it looked like we were using 90 percent of what we could borrow.