Taxpayers On The Hook For Bill Clinton’s Cinemax?

In yet another example of the unbelievable spending that takes place in the government, a recent report is sure to raise at least an eyebrow or two.  According to The Daily Caller, Bill Clinton used the allocations that were afforded him as a former President to pay for a premium package from Direct TV to have entertainment channels in his office.  What that means is a bill for over $184 for the Office Premium package that includes 32 high def channels and movie channels like HBO, Showtime and Cinemax.  As the article goes on to point out, Cinemax ends up being pretty racy at night, with offerings like "Busty Coeds vs. Lusty Cheerleaders," so you can imagine that former President Clinton likes to spend late nights in the office.

That is not the only expense that the government lays out for former President as they are also funding both Presidents Bush and Jimmy Carter and their various expenses.  Mind you these expenses do not include security, which the secret service will provide until they pass on.

Think about this.  Each of these men have the ability to go out and command a large sum of money just for giving a speech.  Each one is independently wealthy and does not have to worry about working at all for the rest of their lives.  They could easily fund their own television in their office, copies of the New York Times or anything else that you can imagine, yet our government picks up the tab.

To me, this is one of those items that the government has no business spending money on.  It would be one thing if they couldn't do anything to make money for themselves, but they have the ability to do so.  Bill Clinton has an office to do what?  Jimmy Carter has an office to do what?  These men do not have to work.  What is Bill Clinton doing in his office that he needs to have this terrifically expensive entertainment package?  Wait, don't answer that, we really don't want to know.

While I know that a million spent on Bill Clinton and a million spent on George W. Bush are small compared to the $16 trillion that we are in the hole for as a nation, how do you think we get there when we allow for a TV bill of almost $200 just so Bill Clinton will have a sort of legitimate excuse to be at the office doing something, and again, I really don't want to know what he is doing.

It is time to control spending and that includes spending on the former Presidents.  I think protecting them is one thing, but it is quite another when I have to pay so President Clinton can read a newspaper or watch "50 First Dates" (or heaven forbid something way more sordid than that) when he has nothing to do at the office.