GeorgiaDon 340 #51 January 2, 2013 QuoteAgreed. One term for everything is what I would like to seeOne consideration there is that then even more of the real power will be in the hands of the aids and other bureaucrats, who will have a never-ending succession of know-nothing newbies to lead around by the nose. Sort of like that BBC TV show "Yes Minister". Don_____________________________________ Tolerance is the cost we must pay for our adventure in liberty. (Dworkin, 1996) “Education is not filling a bucket, but lighting a fire.” (Yeats) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wmw999 2,122 #52 January 3, 2013 I'm going to bet this is the only response to your post. Well, maybe not now that I posted. I put myself through private university. I feel little sympathy for single healthy people from good high schools who say they can't afford college. However, add in a disability, a family to a lack of support, lack of background knowledge on how the whole college thing works (combined with a lack of family or friend support) and it all changes. So it's easy for me to say that it's possible. But I have to remember all the advantages I started out with. Yeah, including being blond and female -- it probably helped me get that waitress job. Wendy P.There is nothing more dangerous than breaking a basic safety rule and getting away with it. It removes fear of the consequences and builds false confidence. (tbrown) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DrewEckhardt 0 #53 January 3, 2013 Quote> Sure 14 million for his vacation is a drip in the bucket you say, but it's all of this > type of spending that they won't cut that's keeping us in this deficit. So what's the alternative? No vacations for presidents? Make them fly Southwest? Presidents should receive fair wages like they'd earn in private industry and cover their own expenses like air fare. The US has $3T in revenues. With no single company that big in existence we'd need to extrapolate some. For example, that's about six times Exxon-Mobile's revenue, their CEO earned about $35M, so we could pay Obama $210M/year. With the president responsible for his own transportation he might down-size to something like a G550. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DrewEckhardt 0 #54 January 3, 2013 QuoteAgreed. One term for everything is what I would like to see When California instituted term limits lobbyists started writing more legislation and guiding inexperienced legislators through the process. I don't think that was an improvement. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
skypuppy 1 #55 January 3, 2013 QuoteSeriously? Your OP subject specifically points out the current presidents activities, now you're backpedaling and going on about the "bigger issue at hand". Like I said, do something about it other than whine. Do you expect the President of the United States to fly Southwest, stand in line and be harassed by TSA, pick his luggage up at the baggage carosuel , and be picked up at the curb? The man is ALWAYS working, even on vacation, and his office and duties go with from A to B (even if in this case it's A to B to A to B). Let's talk abot what better use for the hundreds of billions if not trillions of dollars spend on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and what better use for all that money. Education, infrastructure, education, social services, education, education... For someone that's always working, why hasn't he actually managed to pass a budget in years? Going by what he's achieved since in office, they might have been better off without him.If some old guy can do it then obviously it can't be very extreme. Otherwise he'd already be dead. Bruce McConkey 'I thought we were gonna die, and I couldn't think of anyone Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Andy9o8 0 #56 January 3, 2013 Pssst..the US isn't a parliamentary system, where the PM usually has a majority in the legislature. In the US budgets are ultimately passed by Congress; and Obama currently has to deal with a pretty hostile opposition-party majority in the House of Representatives. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
skypuppy 1 #57 January 3, 2013 QuotePssst..the US isn't a parliamentary system, where the PM usually has a majority in the legislature. In the US budgets are ultimately passed by Congress; and Obama currently has to deal with a pretty hostile opposition-party majority in the House of Representatives. I don't know = he sounded like he knew pretty much what he was doing when he got elected the first time. Didn't seem to think it would be a problem. In fact I think he said something about just sitting down and hashing things out around a table or something... But then again, maybe that was all the 'experience' he had getting things done in the private sector before running for president.If some old guy can do it then obviously it can't be very extreme. Otherwise he'd already be dead. Bruce McConkey 'I thought we were gonna die, and I couldn't think of anyone Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
billvon 2,400 #58 January 3, 2013 >Presidents should receive fair wages like they'd earn in private industry and cover >their own expenses like air fare. Should they cover the expenses for their security detail, secure communications equipment and stuff like nuclear launch authorization systems? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
aphid 0 #59 January 3, 2013 QuotePssst..the US isn't a parliamentary system, where the PM usually has a majority in the legislature. In the US budgets are ultimately passed by Congress; and Obama currently has to deal with a pretty hostile opposition-party majority in the House of Representatives. I've often wondered why there is so much reluctance in passing legislation for a line item veto. Many in your country seem to be hyper-critical of your Presidents, yet attempt effectively to limit much of their authority short of military adventures. From Wiki: "Starting with Ulysses S. Grant, every US president has asked congress to enact legislation granting the president line-item veto power but it was not until the Clinton presidency that Congress passed such legislation.[3] Although it was intended to control "pork barrel spending", the Line Item Veto Act of 1996 was held to be unconstitutional by the US Supreme Court in a 1998 ruling in Clinton v. City of New York. The court affirmed a lower court decision that the line-item veto was equivalent to the unilateral amendment or repeal of only parts of statutes and therefore violated the Presentment Clause of the United States Constitution. Before the ruling, President Clinton applied the line-item veto to the federal budget 82 times. Since then, the prospect of granting the President a line-item veto has occasionally resurfaced in Congress; either through a constitutional amendment[citation needed] or a differently-worded bill. Most recently, the House of Representatives passed a bill on February 8, 2012, that would have granted the President a limited line-item veto; however, the bill was not heard in the Senate." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Line-item_veto#United_States Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Remster 24 #60 January 3, 2013 Quote >Presidents should receive fair wages like they'd earn in private industry and cover >their own expenses like air fare. Should they cover the expenses for their security detail, secure communications equipment and stuff like nuclear launch authorization systems? I'm pretty sure CEO's don't pay out of pocket for corporate security, and their cell phone accountsRemster Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Andy9o8 0 #61 January 3, 2013 QuoteQuotePssst..the US isn't a parliamentary system, where the PM usually has a majority in the legislature. In the US budgets are ultimately passed by Congress; and Obama currently has to deal with a pretty hostile opposition-party majority in the House of Representatives. I don't know = he sounded like he knew pretty much what he was doing when he got elected the first time. Didn't seem to think it would be a problem. In fact I think he said something about just sitting down and hashing things out around a table or something... But then again, maybe that was all the 'experience' he had getting things done in the private sector before running for president. All you're demonstrating is: facts be damned, as long as you get your noise in. Whatever floats your boat. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SkyDekker 1,123 #62 January 3, 2013 QuoteI'm pretty sure CEO's don't pay out of pocket for corporate security, and their cell phone accounts Nor do they pay for travel on the corporate jet. It is either a perk, or they are requested to pay the equivalent of a commercial ticket as token compensation. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
skypuppy 1 #63 January 3, 2013 QuoteQuoteQuotePssst..the US isn't a parliamentary system, where the PM usually has a majority in the legislature. In the US budgets are ultimately passed by Congress; and Obama currently has to deal with a pretty hostile opposition-party majority in the House of Representatives. I don't know = he sounded like he knew pretty much what he was doing when he got elected the first time. Didn't seem to think it would be a problem. In fact I think he said something about just sitting down and hashing things out around a table or something... But then again, maybe that was all the 'experience' he had getting things done in the private sector before running for president. All you're demonstrating is: facts be damned, as long as you get your noise in. Whatever floats your boat. I think what we're demonstrating here is O's been the least efficient president the country has ever had. If he knew this was coming up, and he knew what he was going to do, he should have postponed his vacation. I know several people that had to do that this year to handle crises at work in different circumstances. That would at least have saved the cost of one flight to hawaii and back.If some old guy can do it then obviously it can't be very extreme. Otherwise he'd already be dead. Bruce McConkey 'I thought we were gonna die, and I couldn't think of anyone Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Andy9o8 0 #64 January 3, 2013 QuoteQuoteI'm pretty sure CEO's don't pay out of pocket for corporate security, and their cell phone accounts Nor do they pay for travel on the corporate jet. It is either a perk, or they are requested to pay the equivalent of a commercial ticket as token compensation. Are you certain of whence you speak? In the US, many, many corporate perks, if not reimbursed to the company at bona fide value, are treated as taxable income by the IRS. Assuming, of course, that the IRS knows about them. And generally, both the company and the executive are required by law to report it to the IRS. Failure to make such report may be a criminal offense. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Andy9o8 0 #65 January 3, 2013 QuoteQuoteQuoteQuotePssst..the US isn't a parliamentary system, where the PM usually has a majority in the legislature. In the US budgets are ultimately passed by Congress; and Obama currently has to deal with a pretty hostile opposition-party majority in the House of Representatives. I don't know = he sounded like he knew pretty much what he was doing when he got elected the first time. Didn't seem to think it would be a problem. In fact I think he said something about just sitting down and hashing things out around a table or something... But then again, maybe that was all the 'experience' he had getting things done in the private sector before running for president. All you're demonstrating is: facts be damned, as long as you get your noise in. Whatever floats your boat. I think what we're demonstrating here is O's been the least efficient president the country has ever had. If he knew this was coming up, and he knew what he was going to do, he should have postponed his vacation. I know several people that had to do that this year to handle crises at work in different circumstances. That would at least have saved the cost of one flight to hawaii and back. Noise. Nice scramble to try salvage a smidgen of your Obama-bash, but it's still just noise. Don't you have your own politicians to bash? Or does nobody really care who they are? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SkyDekker 1,123 #66 January 3, 2013 QuoteQuoteQuoteI'm pretty sure CEO's don't pay out of pocket for corporate security, and their cell phone accounts Nor do they pay for travel on the corporate jet. It is either a perk, or they are requested to pay the equivalent of a commercial ticket as token compensation. Are you certain of whence you speak? In the US, many, many corporate perks, if not reimbursed to the company at bona fide value, are treated as taxable income by the IRS. Assuming, of course, that the IRS knows about them. And generally, both the company and the executive are required by law to report it to the IRS. Failure to make such report may be a criminal offense. Cause there is no way around it, like calling it business travel, or a corporate retreat, or any of the other options.... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Andy9o8 0 #67 January 3, 2013 If I understand your answer, what you're impliedly referring to also has another name to it, if it's not reported to the IRS as income: income tax evasion. People are often unpleasantly surprised to find out just how astute and aware the IRS is about tax evasion for in-kind business income. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
regulator 0 #68 January 3, 2013 If the movie Air Force 1 holds true then wouldnt they need other things like countermeasures? The more I think about it, with all the advanced communications gear, countermeasures, and radar jamming equipment maybe its better the president flew AF1. But I could see having a fleet of varying sizes for different occasions and occupant capacaties. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rehmwa 2 #69 January 3, 2013 QuoteBut I could see having a fleet of varying sizes for different occasions and occupant capacaties. sigh......people continue to come up with ideas that actually increase bottom line costs - (sorry, regulator, you're just the next post to reference from a list of similar stuff) I wonder if reading this thread is what watching C-SPAN feels like ... Driving is a one dimensional activity - a monkey can do it - being proud of your driving abilities is like being proud of being able to put on pants Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
regulator 0 #70 January 3, 2013 Surely there are multiple AF1's right now. I was just saying that when one of these gets decommissioned that one of the planes in the fleet didnt have to be as large as the others. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
chedlin 0 #71 January 3, 2013 I believe they consider most of it government expense, but I am pretty sure personal and campaign travel require the president or campaign to reimburse the value of a first class ticket to avoid this. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
promise5 17 #72 January 3, 2013 And how many vacations have we paid for, for this president and his family? How much was that European vacation that Michelle Obama took a year or so ago?? Hey, I have to pay for my own vacations, so just a thought they should have to pay for theirsNo matter how slowly you say oranges it never sounds like gullible. Believe me I tried. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Andy9o8 0 #73 January 3, 2013 Already asked and answered here. Stop being lazy and read the thread. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kallend 1,623 #74 January 3, 2013 QuoteAlready asked and answered here. Stop being lazy and read the thread. He could stop whining too.... The only sure way to survive a canopy collision is not to have one. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
regulator 0 #75 January 3, 2013 He could stop whining too. Perhaps you should get a new eye exam. Pretty sure thats a girl in that picture. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
