Wednesday, April 4, 2012

More limited government, Perry-style

That champion of limited government, Rick Perry (he of limited intellect), racked up more than $1.7 million in travel expenses related to his inept presidential campaign. That tab, to be paid by Mr. Perry's campaign chest, includes air fare, lodging, food, rental cars and baggage.

In addition to his travel expenses (most of which were completely unrelated to his job as governor), Mr. Perry ran up a bill of $2.1 million for his security detail between August 2011 and February 2012. We, on the other, hand are on the hook for the security detail. The bill is to be paid by the state's highway fund which is replenished through the state's gas tax and car registration fees.

So, the next time you fill up at the pump and cringe as the sales amount spins toward infinity, you can thank Gov. Goodhair.

On a similar vein, Gov. Perry "retired" in January but will continue to serve as governor and collect a yearly pension of roughly $92,000 to go along with his salary of $150,000. Of course the fair-haired one justifies his double-dipping on the grounds that his years of military service and public service plus his age qualify him to receive a pension. I guess we can forget about that pesky little fact that he's still working.

Gov. Perry is the typical conservative politician who will preach about personal responsibility and limited government out on the campaign trail but, when behind closed doors, will stick his fingers into every cookie jar he can find. Mr. Perry's disastrous presidential campaign had nothing to do with governing the State of Texas but we're all being taxed to fund his Quixotic quest while school districts are laying off teachers across the state due to cuts in education funding. He and his buddies in Austin seek to cut funding for any program that offers benefits to the poor and yet Mr. Perry double-dips so he can pocket an extra $92,000 a year.

1 comment:

Kirk said...

Don't forget that he's living in a multi-million-dollar mansion at taxpayer expense, all expenses paid.