Model Politician

The New York Times published a story today that discussed a benefit enjoyed by many in the House of Representatives. In summary, the article described the rather large array of vehicles leased by Representatives under a program financed by tax payers. There were several examples given in the article, yet this list likely does not even scratch the surface of the complete story. Be that as it may, there are many not-so-model examples presented - not to mention a shocking overall message of hypocritical financial irresponsibility.

Right out of the gate, let’s take a look at the specific examples given in the story:

Representative	Party	Vehicle	Lease
Anthony D. Weiner	D - NY	2008 Chevy Impala	$219
Michael R. McNulty	D - NY	2007 Mercury Mariner Hybrid	$816
Charles B. Rangel	D - NY	2004 Cadillac DeVille	$777
Charlie Melancon	D - LA	2007 Chevy Tahoe	Unk
Bobby L. Rush	D - IL	2007 Lincoln Navigator	Unk
Alcee L. Hastings	D - FL	2006 Infiniti M45	Unk
Maurice D. Hinchey	D - NY	BMW 530i	Unk
		2007 Nissan Altima             (for his Chief of Staff)	$200
Edolphus Towns	D - NY	2005 Lincoln Town Car(traded for):	$845
		2008 Lincoln MKX	$715
Jim Saxton	R - NJ	2004 Chevy TrailBlazer	$310
Gregory Meeks	D - NY	2007 Lexus LS 460	$998
Louise M. Slaughter	D - NY	2007 Buick Lucerne	$808

Let us examine the representation here:

1. 10 out of 11 Representatives discussed in this story are Democrats and of these 10, only 1 is confirmed as paying less than $715 per month (not counting insurance, gas, or maintenance) for their tax-payer provided conveyance! (Hats off to Anthony Weiner for saving us a little money, eh?).
2. The single Republican Representative is paying $310 per month
3. 7 of the 11 Representatives hail from the state of New York for a total of over $4500 per month in lease payments (avg of $647) - Seems like New York has a little problem with over spending, eh?
4. Only one Representative has a vehicle that averages over 30 MPG - not very good “representation” at $4 / gallon, eh?

           

Adding salt to the fiscal wound is the fact that tax payers also subsidize the gas, insurance and maintenance for these vehicles…(not to mention each Representative’s base salary of $162,500 per year - hard to fathom their uncanny ability to survive, eh?). I also want to point something else out: take a look at the monthly lease payments for Rep. McNulty’s 2007 Mercury Mariner Hybrid ($816) and Rep. Slaughter’s 2007 Buick Lucerne ($808). Seem a little ridiculous to you? These cars go for an MSRP of about $30K, at best. So, what gives with the $800+ monthly leases? If this is any indication of these politician’s ability to be financial responsible, I would like none of it, thank you…

The article indicates about 125 Representatives are using this benefit at tax-payer expense. This is likely indiscriminant among Democrats and Republicans with many Reps. from each party participating. I find it hard to take Congressional pleas for their constituents seriously when they are blatantly disregarding their own civic standards that they try to hold voters to. The use, eh-em, abuse of this tax-payer funded benefit is absolutely unacceptable! Politicians must lead by example they are selected by the people for the people…. Election to office does not grant them a higher social status at taxpayer expense.

This New York Times story would be much more compelling if it told a different story… Let’s try this out:

“In an effort to show the American people that politicians CAN actually practice what they preach, Congress negotiated a package deal with Toyota which will provide one Certified Used Toyota Prius Hybrids to every three Representatives. These fuel efficient cars will send the message that our politicians are serious about decreasing our dependency on oil, improving traffic congestion in metropolitan areas, and minimizing the environmental impact we have on this planet. In an effort to maintain the socially elite status many of your Representatives were trying to achieve with their vehicle selections, all Lexus 460s, Infiniti M45s, Lincoln MKXs and Cadillac De Villes will be sequestered into the general motor pool for transportation of foreign dignitaries.”

We hear this rhetoric all the time, yet it is but only a dream to think we may witness a politician actually living by the ideals they campaign with… Representatives who do not “represent” their constituents - definitely not Model Politicians!

Tags: Congress, Government Spending

This entry was posted on Thursday, May 1st, 2008 at 10:16 pm and is filed under Not So Model. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.