Please Pass The Shrimp

Say goodbye to Martha Johnson. This week she was forced to resign as chief of the General Services Administration, the federal agency that manages real estate for the government.

Somehow Martha managed to spend an incredible $820,000 for a conference outside of Las Vegas. Among the expenditures she okayed: $31,000 for a "networking reception," $146,000 for catered food and drinks, as well as $130,000 in expenses to "scout" the conference's hotel location. Apparently, Martha's advance team had to travel to Vegas six times to get a handle on where was best to discuss GSA business. Somebody had to do it.

In her resignation letter, Ms. Johnson acknowledged "a significant misstep."

Thanks.

President Obama's Chief of Staff, Jacob Lew, says Mr. Obama "was outraged by the excessive spending."

Oh, yeah? Has he seen the federal budget lately?

This all ties in together. Federal bureaucrats well know that tax dollars roll in no matter what. It's the law. If you don't want to wind up in the penitentiary like Wesley Snipes, you pay what the feds tell you to pay. And Martha Johnson gets a taste.

After all, what's the big deal? The Obama administration is the biggest spending outfit in the history of the country. Why shouldn't federal employees eat shrimp at $4 apiece at a cocktail party? If the rich guys would only pay their fair share in taxes, they could even swallow more shellfish.

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