DescentBB

So while all us peasants have to tighten our belts it would seem our beloved elected officials are enjoying their benefits to the hilt:

\"The spending on overseas travel is up almost tenfold since 1995, and has nearly tripled since 2001, according to the Journal analysis of 60,000 travel records. Hundreds of lawmakers traveled overseas in 2008 at a cost of about $13 million. That's a 50% jump since Democrats took control of Congress two years ago.\"

Does one wonder why our country keeps diving ever deeper into debt?

If a government offical or officer wants to travel, they should do it on their OWN dime, and not on taxpayer money.

How much of the added cost is due to travel to Iraq / Afghanistan to visit troops or do diplomatic stuff? How much of it is due to trips to France to whine about how America needs to be more like the French? It'd be nice to see a breakdown of costs and destinations.

For more detail:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124650399438184235.html