“Let them park in long term parking and fly coach and eat lousy airline food like the rest of us.” - Ross Perot
We should’t be paying for any of that crap. We’re their bosses, or at least we’re supposed to be. Last time I checked, I didn’t authorize that kind of travel.
Buuuuuuuttttttt, to really infuriate the public. I worked as a security contractor in Iraq for a while. When I went home on leave, my travel was paid for by my company who was then reimbursed by the State Dept. I was only allowed to travel to my home of record, in coach. Anything else came out of my pocket.
State Dept folks were given a stipend for travel, $3500. They could use that for their travel home. Not just to get home to the US to see whoever it is they wanted to see. So, if they got a ticket to the State for say, $1500. They could use the remaining $2000 to travel anywhere they wanted. If they lived in DC, but wanted to visit a friend in San Diego, we paid for it. If they wanted to visit their folks in Florida, we paid for it. Funny, I don’t remember agreeing to pay for all their plane tickets while they were on vacation, do you?