Commentary by Jacob Sullum - According to the White House website, President Obama enjoys the comfort and convenience of two "highly customized" Boeing 747s with "4,000 square feet of floor space on three levels," including " a medical suite," two galleys that "can feed 100 people at a time" and "an extensive suite for the President that features a large office, lavatory, and conference room" all at taxpayer expense. But as he proved at his press conference on Monday, where he once again inveighed against "these egregious loopholes that are benefiting corporate jet owners," Obama cannot stop complaining about other people's fancy airplanes. "You go talk to your constituents," the president recalled telling Republican leaders last month, "and ask them are they willing to compromise their kids' safety so that some corporate jet owner continues to get a tax break. And I'm pretty sure what the answer would be." Obama objects to the fact that owners of corporate jets can write off the cost of their purchases over five years instead of the seven required for commercial aircraft. If this policy continues, he warned at a press conference two weeks ago, "it means that food inspection might be compromised," along with college scholarships, medical research, the National Weather Service and Medicare. The revenue to be gained from a slower depreciation schedule for corporate jets, writes The Washington Post's Glenn Kessler, is "so small the White House could not even provide an estimate."
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Jacob Sullum column: Plane Truth
Commentary by Jacob Sullum - According to the White House website, President Obama enjoys the comfort and convenience of two "highly customized" Boeing 747s with "4,000 square feet of floor space on three levels," including " a medical suite," two galleys that "can feed 100 people at a time" and "an extensive suite for the President that features a large office, lavatory, and conference room" all at taxpayer expense. But as he proved at his press conference on Monday, where he once again inveighed against "these egregious loopholes that are benefiting corporate jet owners," Obama cannot stop complaining about other people's fancy airplanes. "You go talk to your constituents," the president recalled telling Republican leaders last month, "and ask them are they willing to compromise their kids' safety so that some corporate jet owner continues to get a tax break. And I'm pretty sure what the answer would be." Obama objects to the fact that owners of corporate jets can write off the cost of their purchases over five years instead of the seven required for commercial aircraft. If this policy continues, he warned at a press conference two weeks ago, "it means that food inspection might be compromised," along with college scholarships, medical research, the National Weather Service and Medicare. The revenue to be gained from a slower depreciation schedule for corporate jets, writes The Washington Post's Glenn Kessler, is "so small the White House could not even provide an estimate." Read more
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1 comments:
Gee, I can find a place in the Constitution that allows for a compensation for the president for his services but I can't find anywhere that he is supposed to have one, let alone two, jets at his disposal for travel. Or maybe they are part of his compensation package. Of course if he were in the private sector, he'd be taxed as one of the RICH guys.
Nor can I find anywhere in the Constitution any where that allows for expenditures to or by the First Lady.
We are so far off base with our understanding of just who/what the President and these other folks are that we have no concept of what is allowed and what is not allowed. The President is the head butler of the US. If you don't believe me, check out Article II, Section 2 where the sum total of his legal, authorized constitutional authority is written. Now I recognize that most people think differently of the President BUT they are simply wrong. The incorrect paradigm came about through the development of a Cult of the Presidency and the theft of power by usurpation by most if not all past Presidents.
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