This class warfare shit has got to stop. And our President needs to think twice three times before he injures the hospitality industry yet again.
First it was his infamous slap at Vegas. Then he said we should save our money and not take vacations. Then he tried to stop federal travel to save the environment. Now, his Office of Government Ethics has proposed a new rule that would prohibit federal employees from accepting free admission to conferences held by organizations that lobby the government.
Which would be...errrr, virtually EVERY organization (including the Democratic Party).
Look...I'm not trying to pile on when his performance ratings are at their lowest. And I certainly don't see a clear-cut alternative. But, seriously...I can't recall a President that has ever been as dismissive of an industry that means so much to this country's economy.
Federal employees are insulated enough from the real world. This punitive rule would exacerbate that insulation even more.
So they get to go to a conference or a dinner (or your National Convention). Who the hell really thinks that will unfairly influence federal decision making?
Really?
No, the administration can't buy a clue....budget woes.
Posted by: MA | October 26, 2011 at 13:53
If they bought a clue, the Republicans would insist on an equal cut somewhere else.
But seriously, I think that what the travel industry is feeling is not so different from what all of us are feeling with cuts happening everywhere. We're short of police, teachers, nurses, and here in Colorado Springs (a travel-dependent economy) we cut out the care and feeding of our local parks and other tourist destinations, while watching our local officials go off on jaunts to D.C. and elsewhere. Ordinary folks ask why there has to be travel when internet meetings are possible. As Washington scrambles to cut more from the budget, we're all feeling the cuts, just in different ways.
Posted by: Lyn Benoit Goodnight | October 26, 2011 at 14:04