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U.S. Senator usually doesn’t need charity, but Jim Bunning of Kentucky is getting plenty.
Bunning is a former Major League baseball pitcher now in the Hall of Fame.
He earns $169,300 as a Senator, but Senate rules limit making outside money. Senators can direct the income they make as Senators to charitable foundations. That is exactly what Bunning has done with income from baseball memorabilia and speaking engagements.
According to a little research from the Lexington Herald-Leader, the non-profit Jim Bunning Foundation has brought in $504,000 since its establishment in 1996. It has paid out $180,000 to its sole employee. That employee is Jim Bunning.
On the plus side, the Foundation has contributed thousands of dollars for charitable causes in Kentucky. Nevertheless, the Foundation only gave away $136,435, less than Bunning gave to himself.
That makes Jim Bunning his own favorite charity.
“The foundation is a charity that hired Jim Bunning to work for it,” said Robinson, a former congressional aide to Bunning. “Without hiring him to do this, the charity wouldn’t have any income.”
Well, yes, and neither would Jim Bunning.
