Editor, Manteca Bulletin,
The Occupy Wall Street movement has been noted to be supported by several socialist and communist organizations in an effort to destroy capitalism in America. What America needs is an Occupy Washington Movement to remove the abuse and corruption in Washington. The CEOs of various companies, who create jobs, are not the problem. The problem begins with our Chief Executive, Barack Obama.
While Obama complains about CEOs using their corporate jets at the expense of the company, Obama uses Air Force One as his personal jet at the expense of American taxpayers. While each president has a right to use the people’s money for vacation, Obama abuses this luxury. Just one trip to Hawaii cost the taxpayers $1.5 million. That’s not including Mrs. Obama arriving 30 minutes earlier using Air Force Two at an additional tax cost of $11,351 per hour. The Obamas, White House staff, and Secret Service stayed at luxurious beachfront housing, even though they could have stayed at beachfront homes on the Kaneohe Marine Corps Air Station, located less than five minutes from their luxury suites. The cost does not include office building rental in Kaulua, cost of rental cars for White House staff or the total cost of surveillance and Secret Service. This is just one example of many.
Even worse, Mrs. Obama has become a vacationing queen, taking scores of vacations that included taxpayer-funded travel for her mother, children, and cousins to several tourist destinations including Spain, and an African safari, which again included Secret Service and her staff. According to D’Angelo Gore of factcheck.org, there are 26 attendants catering to the First Lady.
Why would Michelle Obama have such an unprecedented number of staffers during a time when millions of Americans are out of work and struggling to support their families? Over President Obama’s four years as president, the taxpayers will have had to pay over $6 million to compensate the First Lady’s staff members. Let’s recall that the future First Lady stated during the campaign, “For the first time in my adult life, I am proud of my country.” I assume she is proud now that the taxpayers are paying for her luxuries.
Then there is the report of the First Lady wearing $540 Lanvin sneakers during a stop to provide soup to the needy at a shelter.
The Obamas are out of touch with the American people, ignoring important domestic and international issues while vacationing and living in luxury at the expense of the American taxpayer. Washington has become home to the privileged, with special retirement accounts and medical benefits. They receive special benefits not accessible to the American people. They are allowed to make laws that benefit certain companies, and then invest in those companies, making millions. This is known as insider trading.
If the CEO of a company were involved in such a practice, it would cost him years in prison. However, if you are from Washington, it is legal. Just make sure you have your wife show up with her $540 Lanvin sneakers at a soup kitchen to show you care about the poor.
Frank Aquila
President of the South
San Joaquin Republicans
mantecarepublicans@yahoo.com
