Liberals frequently came to the defense of President Obama, who racked up more debt than all the other presidents combined, but cannot get over President Trump’s spending…
Sunday’s paper included yet another article that complained about President Trump’s travel and security costs. The editorial grumbled that Trump’s travel to the Mar-a-Lago resort has already cost taxpayers three million dollars. This is on top of complaints that Melania Trump’s security in New York is costing too much, and a petition that she should reimburse the city of New York or move. But these complaints are the height of hypocrisy and a perfect example of petty partisan politics.
Liberals have never met a problem that they believed they couldn’t solve through more government funding, except when they want to complain about Trump. From the pipes of Flint Michigan, to the rail lines in New Jersey, to free condoms and needles for drug users; the problem is never the poor choices of individuals, a turgid bureaucracy, lack of government oversight, or simple human error. They always point to lack of funding as the source of their problem and more taxes and spending as the solution. Here in Nevada they (and their squishy Republican allies) passed the largest tax increase in state history only to complain a year later that cities don’t have “secure” funding and they should mandate a minimum increase in property taxes. Nationally, Congress allocated five billion dollars of ear marks and pork in 2016, but anti Trump politicians protest one hundredth of that amount for presidential travel and security.
The same people who are now complaining we’re defending or minimizing President Obama’s lavish vacations. The Washington Examiner reported that Obama racked up at least 33 million dollars in vacation expenses, including a single trip that cost more than 2 million. That sounds rather large to many Americans who can’t afford vacations, but that is still a drop in the bucket compared to the national debt and President Obama racked up more debt than all the other presidents combined.
Being president is a tough and stressful job. I don’t begrudge any president some regular time off to stay mentally sharp and we should provide them security without question. I hope they would realize that they are spending other people’s money on those trips and plan accordingly. More importantly, I hope politicians quit playing partisan games and adopt fiscally responsible policies that can reduce the deficit and national debt. Trump’s budget is a good start because his increases are offset by budget cuts but there is still more work to do.
