Family Life

06.21.10 |

A report from the Afghanistan government shows that nation's president earns far less than someone working for minimum wage in the U.S. Hamid Karzai's declaration of assets shows he earns just 525 dollars a month and owns no land or property. For a typical 40-hour workweek in the U.S., that comes out to just three-dollars-28-cents an hour. Even so, Karzai makes five times the national average pay in Afghanistan. His assets were made public by the High Office for Oversight and anti-Corruption Commission. Corruption has run rampant through Karzai's tenure in Kabul, and while he is under pressure from Washington to get a handle on it, Karzai said the level of corruption has been exaggerated. Two of Karzai's deputies and other current and former Afghan officials have assets worth tens of millions of dollars. The head of the commission which published the report said any official who withheld information will be prosecuted.