Hey, Chicagoland Commuters,
when the big blizzard swooped down on you in February, did any employer say,
“Since I’m not letting you go early, even though I know there’s a dangerous
blizzard out there, I’ll put you up for the night in a hotel room?”
I thought not.
If you’ve got those ol’
Commuter Blues, come to Idaho and run for the Legislature.
Idaho offers a per diem of
$122 for housing costs during the legislative session if you live more than 25
miles from the capital.
A couple of the legislators
live in Nampa, a city about 26 miles from the capital, a straight shot down the
highway. People commute to and from Nampa every day, and it doesn’t take hours
(although to a commuter it always feels like it does).
So here’s what these
legislators did:
Guy 1 stays at his parents’
house in Boise. But by law he’s entitled to the per diem, so he takes it.
Guy 2 took the $122 per day
to stay on the couch in his office. His reasoning: He specifically got the
office large enough to accommodate the couch so that he could sleep in the
office at night; if he had gotten a smaller office that wouldn’t hold the
couch, he’d be paying less rent, so he’s entitled to the money.
This charmer also, through a
“clerical oversight”, charged the state mileage for commuting back and forth to
Nampa, even though he was sleeping on his taxpayer-funded couch in Boise. Once
it was brought to his attention he paid the money back. No response to the
question, “How do you accidentally
submit a mileage form?” Don’t you have
to sign those puppies? If not, let’s start.
So, friends, the next time
you’re griping about the commute from Palatine to Villa Park, or Chicago to
Roselle, just consider moving to Idaho and running for office. It’s way more
fun.
No comments:
Post a Comment