In Congress, “Lease” is More
Thursday, May 1st, 2008The 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 |
$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:
- 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?).
- The single Republican Representative is paying $310 per month
- 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?
- 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…