Difference between revisions of "Honorarium"
Jump to navigation
Jump to search
DavidB4-bot (talk | contribs) (→top: clean up & uniformity) |
|||
| Line 1: | Line 1: | ||
'''Honorarium''' (plural '''honoraria''') for public officials is a polite word for [[bribery]]. It is often referred to now as '''speaking fees'''. The [[United States Congress]] eliminated members accepting honoraria in 1989.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=V8MwU86D_5EC&pg=PA498&lpg=PA498&dq=honoraria%2Bus+congress&source=bl&ots=TC3BBBmyF5&sig=dNiYlldS04MtRy7N3mgD-ZAIcCU&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjZpve05MPNAhUBzGMKHTDfCY8Q6AEIczAL#v=onepage&q=honoraria%2Bus%20congress&f=false]</ref> The Clinton family is reported to have accepted over $100,000,000 in speaking fees and honorarium since 2000. | '''Honorarium''' (plural '''honoraria''') for public officials is a polite word for [[bribery]]. It is often referred to now as '''speaking fees'''. The [[United States Congress]] eliminated members accepting honoraria in 1989.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=V8MwU86D_5EC&pg=PA498&lpg=PA498&dq=honoraria%2Bus+congress&source=bl&ots=TC3BBBmyF5&sig=dNiYlldS04MtRy7N3mgD-ZAIcCU&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjZpve05MPNAhUBzGMKHTDfCY8Q6AEIczAL#v=onepage&q=honoraria%2Bus%20congress&f=false]</ref> The Clinton family is reported to have accepted over $100,000,000 in speaking fees and honorarium since 2000. | ||
| − | Prior to 1989, members of Congress routinely scheduled daily breakfast meetings with 4 or 5 [[lobbyist]]s for which they recieved an honorarium. Members anecdotally defined honorarium as "$1000 and a bran muffin" for a 45 minute sit-down meeting. Honorarium as a source of fundraising was eliminated in the Ethics Reform Act of 1989 (ERA).<ref>https://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/101/hr1623 </ref> | + | Prior to 1989, members of Congress routinely scheduled daily breakfast meetings with 4 or 5 [[lobbyist]]s for which they recieved an honorarium. Members anecdotally defined honorarium as "$1000 and a bran muffin" for a 45 minute sit-down meeting. Honorarium as a source of fundraising was eliminated in the Ethics Reform Act of 1989 (ERA).<ref>https://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/101/hr1623</ref> |
Traditionally there have been two types of ''speaking fees'' or honoraria paid to public figures. | Traditionally there have been two types of ''speaking fees'' or honoraria paid to public figures. | ||
Revision as of 05:30, June 27, 2016
Honorarium (plural honoraria) for public officials is a polite word for bribery. It is often referred to now as speaking fees. The United States Congress eliminated members accepting honoraria in 1989.[1] The Clinton family is reported to have accepted over $100,000,000 in speaking fees and honorarium since 2000.
Prior to 1989, members of Congress routinely scheduled daily breakfast meetings with 4 or 5 lobbyists for which they recieved an honorarium. Members anecdotally defined honorarium as "$1000 and a bran muffin" for a 45 minute sit-down meeting. Honorarium as a source of fundraising was eliminated in the Ethics Reform Act of 1989 (ERA).[2]
Traditionally there have been two types of speaking fees or honoraria paid to public figures.
- Motivational speakers, such as Tony Robbins or Earl Nightingale ususally at corporate events which are entirely for-profit;
- Honoraria to public figures and celebrities for charitable fundraisers as a top-billing headliner to draw in larger crowds and donations. These types of "honorarium", usually paid by the non-profit entity out of the cash-take at the fundraiser, must be considered by the reciepient as for-profit income. In other words, a speaker who accepts honoraria at a charitable event is not donating his or her time, they are taking money intended by donors as a charitable contribution and using it for personal gain. This is considered by many as an abusive loophole in the United States tax code.