Palin charged Alaska for trips to events her kids weren't invited to

Northstarmom · 10-21-2008, 06:25 PM

"ANCHORAGE, Alaska - Gov. Sarah Palin charged the state for her children to travel with her, including to events where they were not invited, and later amended expense reports to specify that they were on official business.

The charges included costs for hotel and commercial flights for three daughters to join Palin to watch their father in a snowmobile race, and a trip to New York, where the governor attended a five-hour conference and stayed with 17-year-old Bristol for five days and four nights in a luxury hotel.

In all, Palin has charged the state $21,012 for her three daughters' 64 one-way and 12 round-trip commercial flights since she took office in December 2006. In some other cases, she has charged the state for hotel rooms for the girls.

As governor, Palin justified having the state pay for the travel of her daughters — Bristol, 17; Willow, 14; and Piper, 7 — by noting on travel forms that the girls had been invited to attend or participate in events on the governor's schedule.

But some organizers of these events said they were surprised when the Palin children showed up uninvited, or said they agreed to a request by the governor to allow the children to attend. ..."
AP: Palin children traveled on state funds - Decision '08 - MSNBC.com

DonnaL · 10-21-2008, 06:39 PM

Gee, talk about wanting government handouts.

whatever4 · 10-21-2008, 06:55 PM

She's a reformer, all right.

coureur · 10-21-2008, 07:38 PM

If I charged my company for the extra expense of bringing my kids along on business trips, I'd be fired so fast I wouldn't have time to unpack my suitcase.

mini · 10-21-2008, 07:38 PM

You're not as hot.

marite · 10-21-2008, 07:50 PM

I have some sympathy for her. She wants to have a political career and be a good parent at the same time. If she were a millionaire, in the same league as Cindy McCain, she would not have that problem. I'd like to cut her some slack on this even though it's against the rules.

gdorf · 10-21-2008, 07:54 PM

I have two minds on this. One is "what an obvious misappropriation of taxpayer dollars" and the other is exactly what marite said - I have sympathy for an obviously family-oriented mother trying to juggle both family and political career. I think I'll just stay away from criticizing her for this. Seems reasonable to me.

hayden · 10-21-2008, 07:56 PM

marite, I would agree with you if we were talking about Palin wanting to have her family together at actual state functions and trips on behalf of Alaska. I have no problem with mothers having careers and performing public service at the time they have young children. And I would cut them slack if they couldn't keep their families together with little personal funds.

But how do you reconcile that with having the State of Alaska pay for them to go see the dad in a snowmobile race? Or attending a five-hour conference, that seems to require a four-night hotel stay?

coureur · 10-21-2008, 08:05 PM

>>I'd like to cut her some slack on this even though it's against the rules.<<

Against the rules? I bet it's against the LAW. We are talking about the state government here.

SV2 · 10-21-2008, 08:05 PM

From that same article, this old news:

Quote:

The state is already reviewing nearly $17,000 in per diem payments to Palin for more than 300 nights she slept at her own home, 40 miles from her satellite office in Anchorage.

3bm103 · 10-21-2008, 08:14 PM

But the fact is that she's not a millionnaire and she's charging the taxpayers for the luxury of taking her children along with her. If it was official business, she could have left them at home with their father. There is just no excuse for taking them to watch a snowmobile race. I think it would be great if all parents were reimbursed for child care so they could go to work, or even on vacations. But to break the law because she thinks she's special is not what I'd call "a reformer". Or even taking on the big boys.

whatever4 · 10-21-2008, 08:18 PM

"Self-dealing." Palin used that term several times in her interview with CNN's Drew Griffin today, in describing what she's going to reform in Washington. And "self-dealing" describes perfectly her charging the State of State of Alaska for her family's vacations, then refusing to claim as income the amounts the State of Alaska paid for her kids' jaunts.

Every state and federal employee wants to have a career and be a good parent at the same time. That doesn't mean it is legal or morally defensible for them to charge the taxpayers for family vacations.

How can she keep a straight face when billing herself as a fiscal conservative and a reformer?

marite · 10-21-2008, 08:33 PM

Okay, folks, let's leave politics to millionaires and to those who marry millionaires, or whose children are grown and don't need to be with mom and dad.

Hanna · 10-21-2008, 08:52 PM

"I'd like to cut her some slack on this even though it's against the rules."

I wouldn't. My mother traveled a good deal on business when my sisters and I were growing up. She often brought one of us along; she ALWAYS paid. I can't even imagine asking my employer to pay for a companion's airfare. And as noted above, this is against the LAW.

"Okay, folks, let's leave politics to millionaires and to those who marry millionaires, or whose children are grown and don't need to be with mom and dad."

You can make this same argument about any field that requires travel. I'm a university staffer and I have to go to conferences. Believe me, we don't have any millionaires in this office, and our children need to be with mom and dad. But the children don't curl up and die when Mom is gone for a week. That's what Dad is for.

mini · 10-21-2008, 08:56 PM

In my state, as a state employee, she'd be out on her ear in a minute. Our Guv (female, with children) would never even attempt such a stunt.

Besides, she IS a millionaire. (though maybe that's before the car wash went belly up)