Post Presidential Parasites

Suppose that the American parasite political class forgot the fact that they are supposed to be ordinary citizens and decided to continue feathering their personal nests with taxpayer money even after they ceased their short term official duties and for the rest of their lives.

Think of the legions of elected officials; former congressional representatives, senators, city mayors, county clerks and the like still sucking big dollars from the public coffers after their terms of office have expired or even after they’ve been removed from resigned or voted out of office, for expenses like extravagant pensions, office rent, postage, telephone bills, service staff and other expensive perks.  

The very idea is outrageous, isn’t it? Former elected officials carrying on their status as official government parasites while returning absolutely nothing for the benefit of their hosts.

Could this actually happen in the United States at a time when the average American is struggling just to make ends meet and the national debt has ballooned to the astronomical sum of over $16 trillion dollars?

Yes; not only could it happen, it’s happening right now, especially at the very top of the parasite mound in the instance of our former U. S. Presidents. Presidential perks: You could call it welfare for former Presidents.

It’s been part of the federal budget for the executive branch ever since President Harry Truman left office in 1953 discovering later that he was unable to pay his bills. And just like all other aspects of the federal budget in recent decades the amounts have grown to exponential proportions.

Now, every year the American taxpayers pick up the tab for the expenses of our former Presidents. For the likes of Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton and the Bush duo dynasty that means free rent, postage, phone, and office staff — all courtesy of the U.S. taxpayer.

Jimmy Carter's postage bill for just the year 2010 exceeded $15,000; $579,000 was shelled out for Bill Clinton's rent, and the eye-popping sum of $830,000 went to pay George W. Bush's phone bill -- more than $3 million of expenses for four surviving U.S. president parasites in the year 2010 alone – enough to pay the average social security monthly check to 1,000 senior citizens for three months.

Consider that these former presidents are all multimillionaires who can easily afford to pay their own way. Just the fact of being a former U.S. President is a lucrative business today. Bill Clinton earned more than $10 million in speaking fees last year, not to mention his book royalties, also in the millions. George W. Bush commanded $15 million last year for his speeches.

They should be ashamed for continuing to take public funds to pay their phone bills. But they have no shame. They take everything they can get without the slightest remorse in both good time s and bad. They should wait until age 65 and take social security like the rest of us peons. And if their incomes exceed a certain threshold per year, they shouldn’t even be entitled to social security.  

Until that happens, they are nothing but post presidential parasites.