Posted on 05/01/2014 7:58:36 PM PDT by Aria
Obama administration travel and vacation documents were released yesterday by Judicial Watch, and they reveal an unprecedented level of executive branch leisure spending.
According to public information: “As of 2001, the president earns a $400,000 annual salary, along with a $50,000 annual expense account, a $100,000 nontaxable travel account, and $19,000 for entertainment. The most recent raise in salary was approved by Congress and President Bill Clinton in 1999 and went into effect in 2001.”
Obtained via a Freedom of Information request, here are some of the Obama presidency’s spending items:
Since 2009, a total of $40,000,000 has been spent. This year’s Presidential golf outings to California and Florida, including $3,000,000 in flight expenses.
2013′s Africa trip and Honolulu vacations for the Obamas cost $16,000,000- for flight expenses alone.
2013′s Ireland trip tab: $8,000,000.,P> Michelle Obama’s 2-day side trip to Dublin cost $250,000, including a $3,500 per-night suite.
To put these figures in perspective, the administration spends every 5 hours what the average American family spends each summer on vacations. And that only counts those that actually are financially able to vacation. To put it another way, it takes the annual income taxes of 926 typical households to cover these costs.
Or another way, that’s 70 times what the president is allotted in compensation on a yearly basis.
Is there any conceivable way to justify a monthly average travel and vacation budget of $625,000? For a President that constantly harps on about income inequality and shared sacrifice, his lavish presidential lifestyle is the epitome of hypocrisy.
Beyond outrageous but I figure this is the perk he was promised when he agreed to be the front man for the heist of the USA.
Grifter extraordinaire.
Heist. The perfect word.
Anyone who believes that the Obamas have only spent $40 million on travel since moving into the White House has a room temperature IQ.
I presume that, since no money can be disbursed by the Treasury except through appropriations by law, that the GOP House has approved, and is therefore fine with, all this spending?
Yeah, the GOPe ought to be held to account for allowing this outrage.
Obama hasn't spent anything.
The House of Representatives does the spending.
The question soon will be, “what percentage of the GNP?”
You ought to write for Jimmy Fallon.
Where the hell is the 100 million dollar trip to Africa?
It’s all on the taxpayers.
These grifters are of the "Gibs me dat" persuasion, on steroids.
You can take the homies out of the ghetto, but you can't take the ghetto....
Don’t know about the rest of ya’ll but I sure had a good time on all those vacas. Oh, wait, I only helped pay for them. Guess I didn’t have such good time after all. Dang!
effing greed
Perfect two word explanation
I find it interesting that Bush 43 never asked for a pay raise and the last one to get one was Clinton. I wonder if Bush 41 got a pay hike, or Reagan before him.
With El-Presidente it really doesn’t matter what the salary is, he will find ways to enrich himself, always has. Remember the interesting deal he made on his mansion outside of Chicago?
monthly average travel and vacation budget of $625,000?
I’m gonna vomit.
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