It was certainly painful enough during these Apocalyptic Sequester Times to learn a few weeks back that VP Joe Biden's one night stay in Paris in early February cost the taxpayers $459,388.65. That's just the room charges. It doesn't include the cost of travel and "incidentals." One can only imagine!
More recently we learned through the good investigative journalism of Keith Koffler that Biden has routinely been taking Air Force Two home to Wilmington, Delaware on weekends; a distance of just 100 miles. When Biden was in the Senate, he typically took Amtrak, but no more. Koffler calculates just the operating cost would amount to $13,200 per trip.
As if the fringe benefits of the office aren't quite enough – and, Joe does seem to enjoy them – we learn today that he's been charging the taxpayers rent for the accommodations used by the Secret Service as they provide security for him on his Delaware property. As reported in the Washington Times:
Vice President Joe Biden and his wife, Dr. Jill Biden, took in $26,400 in 2012 by renting a cottage on the property of their Delaware home to the Secret Service, tax records released by the White House revealed.
