Mike the Dog

mytdawg

There should be audits of all spending like this and if it doesn't compare to fair market value for the same thing, their spending should get cut. It's a very simple way to keep this unlimited spending, where limits kick in if they are spending more than say 20 percent over prevailing market prices on anything.
The General Accounting Office is supposed to reign in this kind of thing, but they most likely don't have the authority to change things like this and they should.

Hello_Newman

John McCain almost t-boned my sister in a Phoenix intersection about 20 years ago. He was driving a white LeBaron convertible at the time. So I'll agree on the shitty driver part, but would also impugn his taste in cars.

Beluga

I've heard that too, McCain's got good taste in cars, but apparently he's a shitty driver.

Arlen Spector's got a Series 2 XJ6, and he's supposed to be pretty anal about it- making staffers go out and start it up a few times a day to make sure the thing didn't break down while sitting stationary for a few hours.

ranwhenparked

And I hope that you die
And your death'll come soon
I will follow your casket
In the pale afternoon
And I'll watch while you're lowered
Down to your deathbed
And I'll stand o'er your grave
'Til I'm sure that you're dead"

greedy stealing hypocrites. all of them.

boognish

A: It would be more accurate to call it a "douche bag" (that's what my dad always called them), as it is for the windshield washer fluid.

Mike the Dog

How come the first thing to get cut is always public service? We don't have enough public funds so we're going to cut fire and police service so I can keep my personal butt washer.

They've done a pretty good job of keeping the public scared enough to let them throw money around like it wasn't actually ours.

I feel like I'm watching the legislative equivalent of a very very expensive dine-n-dash...

mytdawg

In the USA, image trumps logic, especially for public figures.

my favorite car is a motorcycle

And Mazda...owned by Ford. So the dollars would still go to Dearborn.

BMW, too, has a plant. This one in Spartanburg, SC.

The point is, some portion of the money would still go to US citizens and blue-collar workers. Buying foreign isn't like it was back in the 70's...

And they'd also be closer aligned with their stated reasons for purchasing these cars, and save us all some cash.

Jon

mytdawg

mytdawg

Whatever it is, all Congressmen and Senators should drive one as well.

danio3834

NovaloadMissesPolar

superbad

skyln95

Vote for me!

Blue387

It's probably just a rumor though.

mytdawg

boosted-lego-wagon

Funny you should mention that, here is the perfect one, said to be the first 427 off the assembily line...

Froggmann

boosted-lego-wagon

lascauxcaveman

skloon

Mike the Dog

Wes Siler

DrJeffie

There should be like a maximum annual income cap at which the benefit is cut off or something.

ravana

"I, _____, hereby certify, to the best of my knowledge and judgment, that the requested use of taxpayer funds is the highest and best use at this time. This expenditure is more valuable to the constituency than if it had been left to the taxpayers to do with as they saw fit."

That's the core of the matter, but Boortz insists the idea gets shot down every time. None of these politicos wants to even acknowledge reality.

Ash78

Lounatic

Friends, please read the article. Not only does the federal government pick up the cost of the lease and the gas, but also general maintenance, insurance, registration fees and excess mileage charges.

Bust out your calculators and I think you'll find $800 a month for a Mariner is a pretty good deal, seeing gas is $4.00 a gallon and some states really pork you for annual registration fees.

Uncle Bo, ironically aestheticized

combat chuck

graverobber- It says Loud Pipes Save Lives

skyln95

BRDHNTR: Extraordinaire

Naw, that's probably $295/month going back to Dearborn, the balance to the local Mercury dealer who agrees to kick a couple hundred a month back into the rep's campaign fund.

Eight hundred a month for a Mariner? Pure shenanigans. Happens every time you write a blank check and say "Here go get yourself a car."

lascauxcaveman

bzr

Wes Siler

Does it start with "J" and end with "illwagner"?

Speaking of Jill, I noticed that the current Grand Marquis fire sale does not involve her ($18k for a brand new 08...not bad). I guess they're not making enough profit on it to pay the salary of their Maxim loaner model.

Ash78

atsleep

acarr260

danio3834

danio3834

Steel_ETC

Wes Siler

SLR_BlowerMania

Ash78

danio3834

mercedesuberalles

For some reason UAW workers get a bit testy when they see their taxes being used for politicians to drive cars produced by foreign companies.

CarFreak

Here's a quote from P. J. O'Rourke in "Eat The Rich" which paraphrases an idea from Milton and Rose Friedman's book Free To Choose:

"There is another difficulty with political control of the economy which keeps even the best-behaved governments from using resources well. This problem was explained by the economists Milton and Rose Friedman in their book, Free to Choose. The Friedman's argued that there are only four ways to spend money:
1. Spend your money on yourself.
2. Spend your money on other people.
3. Spend other people's money on yourself.
4. Spend other people's money on other people.
If you spend your money on yourself, you look for the best value at the best price -- knockoff Pings on sale at Golf-ForeLess. If you spend your money on other people, you still worry about price, but you may not know -- or care -- what other people want. So your brother-in-law gets a Deepak Chopra book for Christmas. If you spend other people's money on yourself, it's hard to resist coming home [with] real Pings, a new leather bag, orange pants with little niblicks on them and a pair of Foot-Joy spikes. And if you spend other people's money on other people, any damn thing will do and the hell with what it costs. Almost all government spending falls into category four. This is how the grateful residents of Ukraine got Chernobyl."

DrJeffie

sketchthedog