How Much Do The Obamas Spend On Vacations And Travel?
Shared sacrifice? Socialism is for the people, not the socialists.
Obama administration travel and vacation documents were released yesterday by Judicial Watch, and they reveal an unprecedented level of executive branch leisure spending.
According to public information: “As of 2001, the president earns a$400,000 annual salary, along with a $50,000 annual expense account, a$100,000 nontaxable travel account, and $19,000 for entertainment. The most recent raise in salary was approved by Congress and President Bill Clinton in 1999 and went into effect in 2001.”
Obtained via a Freedom of Information request, here are some of the Obama presidency’s spending items:
- Since 2009, a total of $40,000,000 has been spent.
- This year’s Presidential golf outings to California and Florida, including $3,000,000 in flight expenses.
- 2013′s Africa trip and Honolulu vacations for the Obamas cost $16,000,000- for flight expenses alone.
- 2013′s Ireland trip tab: $8,000,000.
- Michelle Obama’s 2-day side trip to Dublin cost $250,000, including a $3,500 per-night suite.
To put these figures in perspective, the administration spends every 5 hours what the average American family spends each summer on vacations. And that only counts those that actually are financially able to vacation. To put it another way, it takes the annual income taxes of 926 typical households to cover these costs.
Or another way, that’s 70 times what the president is allotted in compensation on a yearly basis.
Is there any conceivable way to justify a monthly average travel and vacation budget of $625,000? For a President that constantly harps on about income inequality and shared sacrifice, his lavish presidential lifestyle is the epitome of hypocrisy.
