President and Mrs. Obama have inked a deal with Netflix to produce content for the channel. From the reporting, it seems that they have carte blanche to produce anything that they desire. They formed a production company named “Higher Ground Productions”, I’m assuming based on their self-declared moral high ground upon which they stand, above the rest of us great unwashed.

The New York Post reported that Netflix Chief Content Officer Ted Sarandos was instrumental in signing the former President and his wife. Interestingly Sarandos’s wife was appointed as Ambassador to The Bahamas during President Obama’s time in office.

I had to look up just what the Ambassador to The Bahamas is compensated. First off, that assignment sounds more like a multiyear paid vacation rather than a real job. It’s not as if we have a cold war conflict with the Bahamians. Yah-man.

Okay, so here are the numbers. Base salary for an ambassador to the Bahamas can be up to $187,000.00 per year. Housing is covered in addition to the base pay. Generally there is an established residence for the ambassador and family, paid for by you the generous taxpayer. But wait, that’s not all.

According the the US Department of State website, the Ambassador to Vacationland gets a 42% cost of living allowance based on “spendable income”. You have to dig around the website, but “spendable income” for that post is $50,400.00. 42% of that means that they get an additional $21,168.00 of your money. A good deal? As the Ginsu knife commercial used to say, “Don’t answer just yet!”

For the paid vacation in the Bahamas, the ambassador gets a 5% of base salary “hardship” differential. I guess that’s to cover the hardship of paying for sun tan lotion. That works out to just some paltry Nancy Pelosi crumbs of $9,350.00. I guess you buy sunscreen by the 55 gallon drum with that.

So far we’re at $217,518.00 of your taxpayer dollars. But wait that’s not all.

You get 5 weeks of “paid” vacation from your, ahem, vacation in the Bahamas. That’s equivalent to $17,981.00. The ambassador also gets paid airfare to and from their assignment locale. And let’s not forget that the ambassador also receives health and life insurance paid for by you the generous taxpayers. The total package pushes near $250,000.00, a QUARTER MILLION DOLLARS PER YEAR!  Dang, I wished President Trump would give me a quarter million dollar paid vacation to the Bahamas.

“Yah-man, ambassadorship be berry berry good to me.“