Its Easy When Its Isn’t Your Money
Jan 25, 2010 Political
The recent trip to Copenhagen for the summit on the hoax known as global warming cost US taxpayers about a MILLION dollars. The people who went to this event spent more per day for their rooms and food than most people sepnd a month on their mortgage.
For 15 Democratic and 6 Republican Congressmen, food and rooms for two nights cost $4,406 tax dollars each. That’s $2,200 a day – more than most Americans spend on their monthly mortgage payment.
CBS News asked members of Congress and staff about whether they’re mindful that it’s public tax dollars they’re spending. Many said they had never even seen the bills or the expense reports.
Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., is a key climate change player. He went to Copenhagen last year. Last week, we asked him about the $2,200-a-day bill for room and food.
“I can’t believe that,” Rep. Waxman said. “I can’t believe it, but I don’t know.” CBS News
Nancy Pelosi filed the disclosure and it had the names of everyone on it but that does not excuse Waxman or anyone else from not knowing how much this cost. They were spending OUR money for this trip and it is up to all of them to be fiscally responsible with our money. There is no excuse for not knowing how much of the taxpayer money was involved. They should know it before they ever embark on a trip and they should take decisions that involve the most judicious use of OUR money.
This is the attitude that one sees from people who are spending someone else’s money. If the money came out of their pockets they could tell you down to the shiny new Lincoln cent how much it was going to cost and how much it ended up costing. But since they are not paying the bills, they don’t really care.
They remind me of children whose parents have given them a credit card that is paid for, no matter how much is charged each month, by the parent. The kids do not learn responsibility and they spend frivolously because it is someone else’s money.
We need people in Congress who will look out for our interests and who will be good stewards of our money.
It is time to vote them all out and put fiscal watchdogs in there regardless of what party they claim as their own.
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Tags: copenhagen, million dollars, taxpayers, wasteful spending
Senate Fails to Control Spending
May 20, 2008 Political
The Senate has added projects worth millions of dollars to the war funding bill. The items added are not related to the war with the exception of a GI Bill which had earlier been reported to involve a 1% surcharge on people making more than half a million dollars a year. While adding items to bills is a legal procedure doing it in this fashion continues to be unethical and underhanded at best. The Senate has added million of dollars for urban schools (as if education does not waste enough money, millions for immigrants to work in agriculture, millions for levee repair in Louisiana (have we not wasted enough money there yet), millions to track down child predators and millions to fight western wildfires.
None of these items have anything to do with the war and this process is just a way for Senators to get items through without going through the proper process and without legislative oversight. These are all domestic items and they should be introduced separately so that they can be passed or rejected based upon their own merits. Adding this kind of stuff is how we end up buying $600 hammers toilet seats.
The Senators know that these items are not likely to be brought up in this year’s session so they are circumventing the regular process to push them through despite the threat of a veto. In essence, the people we pay about $170,000 a year cannot come up with the time to properly introduce these items involving spending our money so they have taken the quick route and added them to the one bill that is certain to get to the president. If these items are deserving then they are strong enough to be introduced on their own and should not be in the war funding bill.
I wonder why it is that there is not enough time for them to do things the right way? Perhaps it is because, despite promises to the contrary, they still have a three day work week (on a good week). Perhaps it is because they are busy jetting around the country either running for office or helping someone who is. Perhaps it is because they work fewer than 100 days per year and they are woefully inept.
I want a Senator to add term limits to the bill. It should be an add on that states people elected to the Senate may only serve two terms and then are barred from serving in either House of Congress. If anyone knows a Senator who favors term limits leave the name in the comment section and I will contact the office with a request.
Whatever happens, and I suspect it will be vetoed, the add ons are wrong and demonstrate a complete lack of fiscal responsibility and leadership on the part of our elected (so-called) leaders.
Source:
My Way News
Tags: domestic spending, fiscal irresponsibility, Senate, war funding, wasteful spending