My newest column is up at AIP, so make sure to go check it out. It’s called Give as I say, not as I give. Here’s an excerpt:

Encouraging new graduates to give to the community is great. Working with charities and those in need is commendable. However, that’s not what the Obamas were doing. The message here was clear: don’t go after a profitable career with high earnings and a fancy title. That’s materialistic and selfish, and instead, you should be “giving back”.

Before we delve into this bad advice, why don’t we take a look at how much the Obamas give back? From 2001 – 2004, the Obamas gave less than 1% of the $1.2 million they earned. The next few years, they increased their charitable giving to around 5% as they began to earn more money, but it hardly comes close to the level of giving they were advocating these students to undertake. And most of their charitable giving went to their church, Trinity United, the church with the anti-American Rev. Jeremiah Wright as former minister. Michelle Obama also has been perfectly happy to live the elitist lifestyle, volunteering while wearing $540 shoes, sneering last year at how little the $600 stimulus checks could buy. Meanwhile, she’s telling people to give up lucrative careers in order to go into community service.

And let’s not forget that, as the economy continues to suffer, the Obamas continue to splurge in the White House, with their weekly parties filled with celebrities, cocktails, and high-priced delicacies. It’s OK for them to splurge. It’s OK for them to be stingy with charitable giving. It’s OK for them to pursue careers with big titles and high profits. It’s just not OK for us to do it.

What hypocrites these two are.

Make sure to go and read the whole thing.