Name:   Talullahhound - Subject:   Come on Guys Date:   3/28/2018 3:41:57 PM

This is not about being liberal or conservative - this is about good stewardship of the taxpayers dollar.  I don't know what kind or who Ben Carson would be entertaining, but I am pretty sure it does not call for a $31000 dining set.  He blamed his wife, which may or may not be true, but he is the official and is responsible.  

And the guy that claims he has to fly on private aircraft because it is too dangerous for him to fly commercial?  What makes him different from anyone else that has held the job before him?  

And the guy that arranged for he and his wife to use taxpayers money for their trip to Europe?  

A lot of these guys are weathy in their own right.  Maybe they've held jobs where the company picked up their every expense.  But that his not how it is in the government and there is really no excuse, whether you are liberal or conservative.  

Yeah, we may give away millions and billions to projects and causes and programs that make this spending look like chicken feed.  But the point is that when you are a public servant, you are held to a higher standard of ethics.  Each one of these guys should have gotten an ethics briefing when they entered office, unless they postponed it and eventually blew it off.  You can't blame it on your staff or your wife or anyone but yourself when the taxpayers money is squandered.  

The actually ethics standard is that anything that even gives the appearance to the general public you are getting or asking for or taking advantage of your position or the taxpayers dollar is unethical.  This is one of the reasons why the general public has such a poor impression of the government workforce - because they see their money being squandered (inept, unhelpful employees; special air flight; toilet seats, perculators, etc) and blame the govenrment, when it is those particular people that are not acting ethically.  

I remember a number of years ago, the Chief of Staff of the Army was gigged for taking an Army helicopter from the Pentagon to Andrews AFB, because of the cost to the taxpayers.  

This should not be the concern of just liberals or just conservatives but all of the tax paying public.