I believe it is time our country enter the 21st century when it comes to the spouse of the President of the United States. There is an official "Office of the First Lady" and Michelle Obama has 12 paid staffers, yet she is a "volunteer". I believe she should be paid a salary for the work she does on behalf of the American people.
Long gone are the days when a wife is merely an appendage of her husband, expected only to run his household and be his official hostess. The First Lady of the United States does important work on behalf of the American people to the extent that having a job outside of her role as First Lady would be impossible. I believe it is unjust and sexist to force her to give up her career and have no earnings of her own.