Apparently, it's okay to spend taxpayer dollars on family vacations. At least, it is if you're the Gov. of Alaska. The AP is running a story about her charging the state for her kids' travel. She even had to change official forms to justify this reimbursement.
Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin is allowed to charge taxpayers for her children's commercial airline tickets because they represent the state wherever they go with her, the governor's aides said Wednesday.
"There's an expectation that the First Family participates in community activities," said Sharon Leighow, the governor's spokeswoman. "They are representing the First Family and the state of Alaska."
Leighow and other Palin supporters defended the GOP vice presidential candidate's use of $21,012 in state money to pay for her three daughters' flights, after The Associated Press reported the practice on Tuesday. The AP reported that often the children were not invited to the events the governor attended, but she brought them anyway and charged the government.
The AP also reported that Palin ordered the children's travel expense forms changed in August to add language claiming that they performed official state business on the trips. Alaska law allows governors to charge the state for their family's travel if they conduct state business. State Finance Director Kim Garnero said the governor's staff has the authority to make that determination.
But event organizers told the AP they were surprised when the girls showed up, and some said they had no role.
(Italics added by me).
So, apparently, she feels that it's okay to dole out taxpayer dollars as she sees fit when it's her who's getting the dole. I've gotta defend her that this isn't socialism, though. It's theft, sure, but not socialism. Socialism would be if she gave everyone in Alaska money for a product they had little to do with getting out of the ground, refining, or selling. If they got this money just for living within the state. That would be socialism. What's that you say? Oh.
But wait. Who supports her theft, uhm, hard working family? John McCain.
Taylor Griffin, a McCain-Palin campaign spokesman, said Palin followed the same practice as other governors whose children join them at functions. He added that Palin could have charged the state for her children's meals, but didn't.
Wasn't that great of her to reimburse the state? I wonder if she used her oil money to do it. Hmmm. That would be a sticky call for an ethics board. But, at least she didn't try to doctor some forms to say they were doing the state's business. I wonder if she charged the friend's parents for their trip, though? Taxpayer dollars can't go to just anyone, after all.