….and wise is the man, that knows the difference between the two.
Someone needs to tell that to the Washington Post.
Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin has billed taxpayers for 312 nights spent in her own home during her first 19 months in office,
charging a “per diem” allowance intended to cover meals and incidental expenses while traveling on state business.The governor also has charged the state for travel expenses to take her children on official out-of-town missions. And her husband, Todd,
has billed the state for expenses and a daily allowance for trips he makes on official business for his wife.Asked Monday about the official policy on charging for children’s travel expenses, Garnero said: “We cover the expenses of anyone who’s
conducting state business. I can’t imagine kids could be doing that.”
The problem with that, in the same article it says:
Palin, who earns $125,000 a year, claimed and received $16,951 as her allowance, which officials say was permitted because her
official “duty station” is Juneau, according to an analysis of her travel documents by The Washington Post.Gubernatorial spokeswoman Sharon Leighow said Monday that Palin’s expenses are not unusual and that, under state policy, the first family
could have claimed per diem expenses for each child taken on official business but has not done so.“As a matter of protocol, the governor and the first family are expected to attend community events across the state,” she said. “It’s
absolutely reasonable that the first family participates in community events.”The state finance director, Kim Garnero, said Alaska law exempts the governor’s office from elaborate travel regulations. Said Leighow: “The
governor is entitled to a per diem, and she claims it.”
and about her kids:
Leighow noted that under state policy, all of the governor’s children are entitled to per diem expenses, even her infant son. “The first
family declined the per diem [for] the children,” Leighow said. “The amount that they had declined was $4,461, as of August 5.”
and the money quote:
Gov. Palin has spent far less on her personal travel than her predecessor: $93,000 on airfare in 2007, compared with $463,000 spent
the year before by her predecessor, Frank Murkowski. He traveled often in an executive jet that Palin called an extravagance during her
campaign. She sold it after she was sworn into office.
Now, she didn’t sell it on E-Bay, she sold it through a broker, at a loss no less, but this idiotic stuff, is just that, idiotic. There’s no scandal here. She took the money, because she was entitled to it.
Looks like the MSM is really desperate for a story and they went with this. They’re channeling the New York Times here, and it could come back to haunt them.