Making millions of dollars for giving speeches is something most former presidents have done over the past few decades to boost their incomes after leaving office. It reportedly began with Gerald Ford.

But for Bill and Hillary Clinton, the practice is raising a lot more money and more than a few eyebrows.

Two issues top the list of concerns with the Clintons — they are raking in much more money than any other former president, and Hillary Clinton is not a former president, she’s a candidate. aspirations raise even questions about who is paying and what they expect in return.

Since leaving the White House, Bill Clinton has made about $100 million for speaking. Hillary, too, has made millions giving speeches since leaving her post as secretary of state.

Making money giving speeches is a bipartisan practice for former presidents. George W. Bush, while remaining mostly out of the public eye, has reportedly raised about $15 million through speeches since leaving office.

Other officials, including former vice president Al Gore, former secretaries of state Colin Powell and Condoleezza Rice make money giving speeches. So do former vice president Dick Cheney, former U.S. Rep. Ron Paul, and former Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke.

But a $500,000 payment for a single speech does raise questions. Bill Clinton has a reputation as a talented speaker and global leader tackling social and health issues. But what makes his dinner speech worth half a million dollars? Clearly, those paying $500,000 gain access, and possible future favors, including help doing business deals.

Questions are being raised about a series of speeches Hillary Clinton gave within the past year in Canada. Her speaking fees were paid by banks with ties to the controversial KeystoneXL pipeline. The speeches earned Clinton $1.6 million and some people suspect the Canadian companies see paying big bucks for Hillary’s speeches as an insurance policy to win approval of the KeystoneXL pipeline if she is elected president in 2016.

It’s also bothersome that Wall Street banks are among the most frequent groups paying Bill and Hillary Clinton for speeches. Will those millions of dollars limit the enthusiasim of a future President Clinton to impose financial reforms or limits on Wall Street banks?

Political observers already have noted that the Bill, Hillary and Chelsea Clinton Foundation has the potential to create ethical problems for Hillary’s presidential campaign. Questions have been raised about millions of dollars paid by foreign interests. About half of the money raised for the foundation comes from outside the United States.

As a top-ranked speaker, Bill Clinton doubtless gets many more speaking requests than he can honor. But details of a recent event illustrated his focus on raising money above all else.

A charity event in New York City held on the 10th anniversary of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami was designed to raise money to build schools in the hard-hit area of Southeast Asia. The event was hosted by Petra Nemocova, a top fashion model who survived the tsunami and created the Happy Hearts Fund to help build schools.

Nemocova put on a lavish event costing $363,413, with the hopes of raising money to build schools. She wanted to honor Bill Clinton for his good works and have him speak at the event to help attract wealthy donors. Clinton refused to attend similar Happy Hearts events in prior years, but then agreed to speak at the June 2014 event only after Nemocova offered to make a $500,000 donation to the Clinton Foundation.

Seeing a small charity pay $500,000 to get the former president to attend an event and accept an honor bothered many people who learned about the deal. A Columbia University professor who directs a master’s degree program on fundraising said of Clinton, “He was riding the back of this small charity for what? A half-million bucks? I find it ... distasteful.”

Having former presidents and top-level government officials making millions giving speeches turns the old express “Talk is cheap” on its head. When a Clinton or Bush or Palin or Gore speaks, it is very expensive.

The millions paid for speeches is especially troubling in the case of the Clintons, given that Hillary is not a former president. She is running for president and it seems clear she could be influenced by the hundreds of millions of dollars given to her or her family’s charity.

— JLWIII