I bumped in to some of my former co-workers the other day and the conversation centered on the hiring freeze and belt tightening that is occurring at work. We agreed that the bosses are using this economic crisis of theirs to go after stuff they’ve wanted to eliminate for years, including the morning coffee. I have since left and am one of those retired public workers who receives what the Wall Street Journal calls, “overgenerous” pension benefits.
The Journal reported on some other benefits last week, travel costs for members of Congress. It seems spending on “overseas travel” is skyrocketing, tripling since 2001 to $13 million in 2008. The Journal’s report is clearly a stab at the Democrats but we know that these costs are not only the tip of an iceberg of wasted taxpayer money but that the plunder of public resources in Washington is an art all of them practice.
The politicians claim the money is well spent as it allows them to, among other things, “learn more about the world.” Taking government planes has its pluses-----the politician’s spouses get to fly free as well. Daniel Inouye, the Senator from Hawaii and six other senators and their spouses took a four-day trip to France for the Paris Air show. They flew on a taxpayer’s Boeing 737 that cost $5,700 and hour to operate. Nancy Pelosi led a delegation of lawmakers on a visit to Afghanistan for a day but spent eight days in Italy first spending $57,000 on hotels and food. Perhaps I am being a little cynical here mind you as the visit may well be of vital importance to the well being of American workers as Pelosi laid a wreath at an American cemetery, visited troops at an air base and chatted with the Pope. The day spent in Kabul didn’t have much success it seems as seven Americans were killed just this Monday and the visit didn’t stop the US bombing weddings and funerals by mistake.
In an attempt to present an image of impartiality, the Journal reports on Republican Bud Cramer’s two week visit to Europe in October 2008 costing US taxpayers $5,700. He left office two months later. What benefit this was to the taxpayer is anybody’s guess. Cramer wanted to “conclude” some issues he was working on, he said. Like most of the big business politicians, he now works as a lobbyist, their term for bribery.
Perhaps the most important trip that we paid for was Rep. Brian Baird’s four-day trip to the Galapagos Islands with his wife, four other politicians and their families. According to the Journal they spent $22,000 on meals and hotels. (Add the cost of government planes to these excursions) They toured a breeding center for giant tortoise, visited a national park where their family members could enjoy “hiking, swimming or shopping” and got to visit a sea-lion colony and look for sharks. With the reigns of power in the hands of such dedicated individuals, I am convinced we will save the planet from environmental destruction by next year.
The whole article reminded me of the huge debate we had in my Union local when we raised the per-diem expense for delegates to conferences from $25 a day to $50.
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