Tag: taxpayer dollars

Bless Their Hearts: How Red States Screw Blue States

Nothing angers Andrew Cuomo more than the notion that taxpayers in “red states” should resent or resist assistance for “blue states” struggling against the coronavirus. Hearing that message from Senate Republicans provoked the Democratic New York governor to remind the nation several times of the gross disparity between what his state remits to the Treasury and what their states reclaim in federal benefits.

Cuomo noted acidly that New York pays $116 billion more than it gets back annually, while lucky Kentucky, the home of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, gets $148 billion more than it pays. By that reckoning, New York has kicked in far more over the past few decades than any of the states whose Republican leaders criticize supposed liberal profligacy.

“Give us our money back, Sen. McConnell,” roared the New Yorker. Continue reading.

Oversight, Out of Mind

Congressional lawmakers, with no ability to hold hearings or entertain witnesses, have largely been forced to abdicate their responsibility to provide oversight of the Trump administration.

CONGRESS HAS BEEN sidelined for weeks by the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, forcing a body steeped in tradition to quickly adapt to legislating from afar in order to pass much-needed relief for devastated businesses and families. But even as lawmakers shift to a more remote lifestyle, conventional congressional oversight has largely been on hold without in-person hearings and witness testimony.
Nearly $3 trillion in spending for virus relief, reports of mass shortages of protective equipment for medical workers and a spate of what appear to be politically motivated firings that would ordinarily prompt a succession of witness and document requests have been met with a much slower response in the nearly six weeks that Congress has been on an extended recess.

Most committees have paused holding hearings to comply with social distancing guidance, and the current rules don’t allow proceedings to be conducted virtually since lawmakers must be physically present. Now, members are moving quickly to ramp up their oversight efforts and looking to resume publicly questioning officials – and issuing subpoenas if they don’t comply. Continue reading.

People Want Melania Trump To Be Forced to Leave NYC

The following article by Kali Holloway was posted on the National Memo website March 29, 2017:

The exorbitant cost of keeping Melania and Barron Trump in their gold-plated penthouse in New York City has inspired thousands to sign a petition asking that they be forced to leave town. The viral Change.org request, titled “Make Melania Trump Stay in the White House or Pay for the Expenses Herself,” already has more than 175,000 signatures. The petition is a response to the drain on city dollars brought on by the stunning security costs—up to $146,000 a day—of keeping Melania and Barron in Trump Tower, according to New York City Police estimates given to the New York Times. Continue reading “People Want Melania Trump To Be Forced to Leave NYC”

Eric Trump’s business trip to Uruguay cost taxpayers $97,830 in hotel bills

The following article by Amy Brittain and Drew Harwell was posted on the Washington Post website February 3, 2017:

Eric Trump and members of his entourage walk outside La Huella, a beachfront restaurant, during a private business trip in early January to Punta del Este, Uruguay. (Cristian Cordoba)

When the president-elect’s son Eric Trump jetted to Uruguay in early January for a Trump Organization promotional trip, U.S. taxpayers were left footing a bill of nearly $100,000 in hotel rooms for Secret Service and embassy staff.

It was a high-profile jaunt out of the country for Eric, the fresh-faced executive of the Trump Organization who, like his father, pledged to keep the company separate from the presidency. Eric mingled with real estate brokers, dined at an open-air beachfront eatery and spoke to hundreds at an “ultra exclusive” Trump Tower Punta del Este evening party celebrating his visit. Continue reading “Eric Trump’s business trip to Uruguay cost taxpayers $97,830 in hotel bills”