I understand that the conservative wing of the GOP has a reputation for being fiscally conservative but I think we all know that lie has been put to rest with the war in Iraq raging longer than World War 2. Last Thursday at noon time MoveOn Political Action organized rallies in all 435 US House Districts offices for the Congressmen and women to receive their copy of a new report which was prepared for every Representative detailing the exact cost to taxpayers from their district the war has cost. The share that the taxpayers of Indiana District 6 represented by Mike Pence have paid since 2003? More after the flip.
$715 million has been taken from Hoosier taxpayers just in the 6th District by itself. The statewide cost is over $6.94 billion and growing. That is such a vast number let me put into perspective for you. For $715 million Pence could buy 189 White Castle hamburgers for every resident in the state. Taxpayers could buy 14,300 Humvees for police and fire departments in the state. We could have replaced 1867 bridges in the district.
That last one is key to the point of this posting tonight. Pence has dissed his district once again by not doing the basic job of every Congressperson which is to bring projects and funding back home to the district. According to this story in the Richmond Palladium-Item this morning, Pence apparently doesn't much care about bringing home any highway funds to his district for its crumbling infrastructure.
Pence brought home only $3.2 million in Federal funds to the district. He asked for a total of 27 projects totaling $64 million but managed to only actually capture $3.2 million. If I had voted repeatedly to fund the Iraq War I would have made sure to bring home more than $3.2 million for projects back home.
Imagine your significant other went crazy and drove up the credit card 223 times the amount you bring home in salary. You and that significant other would be having a stern discussion about household finances which would lead to a breakup if the situation repeatedly occurred. Pence has no problem repeatedly spending 223 times the amount that he brings home to the district. Can we afford him any more?