Former White House Ethics Chief Proposes 'Golf On Your Own Damn Dime Act'

[highplainsdem]

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/walter-shaub-tump-golf-on-your-dime_n_5cfc4b2ee4b04e90f1ca69ea

The former White House ethics chief is sarcastically proposing a “Golf on Your Own Damn Dime Act of 2019.”

Walter Shaub, who served under President Barack Obama before leaving his post a few months after Donald Trump took office in 2017, pitched the mock law in response to Trump’s record number of golf trips to his own resort properties — even during official trips abroad.

The taxpayer tab for president’s pricey golf outings is now up to nearly $106 million, according to a HuffPost analysis. But what’s unique for a golfing president is that Trump owns the resorts he’s visiting, so the publicly funded trips also serve to finance and advertise his private businesses.

How about a law that says anytime POTUS visits a property on or adjacent to a golf course, he/she must pay for all costs incurred by the entourage from the minute he/she left the White House until he/she is back inside the White House? The Golf On Your Own Damn Dime Act of 2019
— Walter Shaub (@waltshaub) June 8, 2019

-snip-

Link to tweet

[empedocles]

1. Dems should pass such a bill!

[BigmanPigman]

24. So McConnell can laugh in our faces?

He is as big a problem as the fucking moron and Fux Ruse are to our dying democracy.

[empedocles]

25. Put House 'cons on record. Get some news coverage.

[rainin]

2. Charge based on value. Every benefit Trump organization receives must be repaid.

People who do this every day can determine a value beyond just the cost of the entourage. He gets exposure. He attracts foreign dignitaries and their entourage. Donors spend money at trump properties for the obvious reason that trump will reward it. He must pay it all back. Any advantage he has that the non-trump property doesn't get must be paid back.

I'm fine with liquidating all of it after he goes to jail -- along with all his kids.

[Hortensis]

3. Simpler: The "Not One Damned Dime" Act

for all politicians. No free pens, no free lunch, no free flights, no free events at private estates.

They like their jobs too much for our wellbeing as it is. Make people come to them and meet in meeting rooms if distance communications won't do.

[SWBTATTReg]

4. Yes, and rump should pay the taxes on these benefits too, all $106 million of it, taxes on it. ...

Why not? If you get excess life insurance valued at over $50K, you have to pay taxes, if you get benefits of some kind (that's not in cash, but implied benefits etc.), you have to pay taxes on it. This is exactly the same thing.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

21. My understanding of life insurance proceeds is that they are not taxable.

At least not at the federal level. Maybe some states collect tax. It's that precise non taxability of life insurance that has rich people use such policies as tax saving or tax sheltering vehicles.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

30. Are you saying that if the premium in a given year is over 50k then it is taxable?

I only know a little bit about such things, and so may be more confused than I think I am.

some years ago my husband and I started paying on a second to die life insurance policy, with our two sons as beneficiaries, although the policy itself was "The Oglethorpe Children Family trust" Or maybe "Life Insurance Trust". I don't recall precisely and at the moment can't look it up. Anyway, because at the time we were anticipating having more wealth than we wound up with, and also because of the inheritance taxes then in effect, we purchased this policy. It was a way to shelter money. After a while our financial prospects diminished, and the yearly premium was going to double, to an amount that we simply could not afford to pay. So we froze the policy at its then value. However, I want to stress that the yearly payment was significantly less than $50k, and even the increased amount would be well below that.

About a year ago, because of certain changes in circumstances, we were able to cash in the policy. It wound up being worth twice what I thought it was, which was a pleasant surprise. No taxes were due on the increase.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

39. Well, since the excess life insurance through your place of employment

isn't taxable to the employee, it's kind of misleading to say that life insurance is taxable. Even a cashed in policy probably isn't taxable, although I've only had experience with one such.

I think taxing life insurance proceeds would cause rioting in the streets. Unless it were only for payouts in excess of a million dollars. Even then, the wealthy would raise enough of a stink that it wouldn't happen.

And what's an SME?

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

42. Thank you.

I hate to complain, but sme isn't an obvious abbreviation.

[SWBTATTReg]

44. SME is a well established, long known abbreviation used in many different occupations. To be ...

honest, I was shocked that you didn't know this abbreviation. No insult meant, but again, SME is one of the better known abbreviations that are out there.

[calimary]

5. Sounds like a good idea to me. Can we make it retroactive

so it covers trump?

[keithbvadu2]

6. Secret Service has spent $35,000 on golf cart rentals since inauguration: report

That's four months after inauguration.

Secret Service has spent $35,000 on golf cart rentals since inauguration: report

http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/328942-secret-service-has-spent-more-than-35000-on-golf-cart-rentals

[FakeNoose]

8. Now it's two years later and the tab is probably over $1 million

Just remember that every one of these cart "rentals" is paid to a Trump resort property.

[ProudLib72]

7. We have yet to pay for Uday and Qusay's rounds for everyone at the Irish pub

However much I would like for Doonbeg to eat that loss since they are magats, I know American taxpayers will end up footing the bill.

[keithbvadu2]

10. Another article said they finally paid it after being shamed into it.

[Scarsdale]

12. During the 2 day stop in Ireland,

this crew of grifters rented 4 luxury SUV's. To buy one it cost $172,000. The 2 day rental cost just less than 1 MILLION !!! $938,000.00. Figure THAT one out, and taxpayers will foot the bill of course.

[Lars39]

35. Easy! Kickbacks

[Achilleaze]

9. republican "billionaires" can pay for their own GD luxury goof offs

Why are republicans saddling the American taxpayer with the bill for their draft-dodging "billionaires" luxuries?

Hello?

This is beyond unfair and stupid. It's freaking evil.

[usaf-vet]

11. How many republicans look the other way when Trumps uses the treasury to enrich himself, BECAUSE....

they can't tolerate the fact of just how nuts he would be without his stress reliever.

I wonder if they would let him use the treasury to pay hush money to hookers?

[Pepsidog]

13. Trump couldn't afford it

[DesertRat]

14. GOYODDA

[Karadeniz]

15. Ive always thought something needed to be done since the grifter took the throne. There

is a budget of sorts; Michelle has said that any food or gifts for her personal friends was charged to her. The Trump kids combine business with pleasure. We're paying for them to travel the world conducting their business but under the aegis of the US government. Not right. We could start by enforcing anti nepotism, cronyism laws. These people are the ultimate users and abusers.

[FloridaBlues]

16. All Trumps think America is their private bank account

[spanone]

17. The minute our govt. gave trump properties a single dime...the emoluments act was violated

by now it's to the tune of tens of millions of dollars for his fucking golf.

[MyOwnPeace]

36. THAT law (emoluments)

already exists and they don't do a damned thing about it.
What good would another one do?

[onlyadream]

18. Interestingly it took the Obamas a full 8 years to spend $106 M

on personal travel, and trump less than three years. Where is the outrage from the right wing assholes?

[Grins]

19. Suppose the POTUS was named Eisenhower? Or Kennedy? Or Clinton? Or Obama...? Too broad.

And then there is this guy:

"I see our president criticized for playing golf. I don't. I think he ought to play golf. I know the pressures of the job, and to be able to get outside and play golf with some of your pals is important for the president. It does give you an outlet. I think it's good for the president to be out playing golf." - George W. Bush defending Obama playing golf, 23 Sept. 2013.

What makes the inarticulate pumpkin traitor's golf offensive to so many is his (and his party's, and the GOP's sprawling Fox News/Hate-Radio propaganda empire) years of attacking Obama for playing the game, and his promise: "I'm going to be working for you; I'm not going to have time to go play golf." )

[Retrograde]

43. There's a slight difference

between a few rounds at Camp David - or even being treated to some rounds at a private club - and channeling golf cart rental fees, rooms, meals, etc. from a resort one owns into one's own pockets. And that's what makes Boss Tweet's golfing junkets so offensive to me.

I agree that presidents are entitled to some leisure time: if they're actually doing their job it's a very high-stress, 24X7 job. Fresh air and exercise is a good way to relieve stress.

[ancianita]

20. Ethics made law? To pass a law to curb every personal misuse of taxpayer money? Pathetic.

[malaise]

23. The word ethics has been removed from the lexicon

for this administration

[Golden Raisin]

26. We're a long way from when candidate Trump

said he'd, "Be too busy to play golf." Another lie from that bloated sack of dirt.

[BlueJac]

27. K&R

[Blue_playwright]

28. Unpopular thinking here but...

I WANT our president to golf, swim, hunt, bike, go to movies, read fiction, eat at McDonalds, go on vacation! All the relaxing things that people do because they should recharge. Being at it every minute of every day and half the night (if you’re a normal prez), is mentally exhausting. I want them to be refreshed sometimes.

I also don’t have a problem with folks going on vacation- In this day and age, people can be fully functional on a ranch in Texas or a home in Hawaii or even theoretically, Mar_a_Lago. They can have family time away from Washington. I didn’t have trouble with Chimpy McCokespoon clearing brush on the pig farm.

Mar-a-Lago though is way too expensive to man and defend and WAY too public for long periods of time.

[SergeStorms]

32. Please.....

Maybe that would hold true for other legitimate, working presidents, but Donnie Darko is the antithesis of that. Trump doesn't start his day until 11:00 AM. Everything up to then is "executive time", with several other hour or so breaks during the day for for more "executive time". Trump actually needs work breaks from his "executive time". All totaled I don't believe Trump works more than 3-4 hours a day, if that. All play and no work makes Donnie a very dull and stupid boy, and it certainly shows!

[Blue_playwright]

33. I agree. We shouldn't make laws though to ...

Punish Trump when they can negatively affect future presidents. It’s a bit of a catch-22...

[pansypoo53219]

29. or make him go to cmp david.

[drmeow]

31. If Obama was still president

It would pass both chambers tomorrow with a veto proof majority.

[MyOwnPeace]

37. Of course!

It's based on the "Republican hypocrisy" law!

[cstanleytech]

38. I would modify it to say it comes into effect only after a certain number of trips to play golf

have been reached as while I could care less about any sport including golf I do realize that every President deserves some downtime to relax just like everyone else.

[Achilleaze]

41. The repubes could start a Gourmet Golf Go-Fund-Me* campaign?

That would be classy.


* republican Draft-dodger-in-Chief