American Taxpayers Foot State Department's Stiff Liquor Bill

Taxpayers foot State Department's stiff liquor bill

Taxpayers Foot State Department's Stiff Liquor Bill

Months after President Obama urged federal agencies last year to cut wasteful spending, the U.S. Department of State paid $3,814 to fill an order of Jack Daniel's whiskey for gratuities at one of its many overseas embassies.

The booze buy wasn't unusual.

Last year alone [2009], the State Department sent taxpayers tabs totaling nearly $300,000 for alcoholic beverages — about twice as much compared to the previous year [2008], according to an analysis of spending records by The Washington Times.

Taxpayer watchdogs say while accounting for a small fraction of the State Department's overall budget, some of the liquor expenditures reflect larger concerns about stewardship of federal tax dollars at a time when many recession-weary Americans find themselves struggling to hold onto jobs and pay mortgages.

[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/16e00a633e15.jpg[/atsimg]

U.S. Tax Dollars

Hard at Work

— Doc Velocity




[edit on 4/15/2010 by Doc Velocity]

You gotta figure the taxpayers will get hit with booze expenses, but why the heck would booze expenses nearly DOUBLE from 2008-2009 when we are supposed to be cutting back?

Something is very wrong with that picture if that analysis by the Washington Times is correct!

Originally posted by Arbitrageur
why the heck would booze expenses nearly DOUBLE from 2008-2009 when we are supposed to be cutting back?

Short answer, because Barack Hussein Obama is a shameless liar and an incompetent boob for putting Hillary Clinton in charge of the State Department.

This administration is not merely drunk on power, it's literally drunk on hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of booze on an open bar tab.

This administration has LIED about everything it's done so far. If Barack Hussein Obama "vows" that we are "cutting back" on wasteful spending, you can automatically conclude that he means exactly the opposite.

— Doc Velocity




[edit on 4/15/2010 by Doc Velocity]

There is NO REASON for any entity of the US Government to have a bill for liquor. We do not pay them to drink, but apparently they perceive otherwise.

This is what happens when these folks have to drink the reality away. If I take my team out for dinner and drinks, its one drink per person. They are on their own after that. The freewheeling days are over for most companies and expense reports are being scrutinized within my company like never before.

Saving money...What a concept....

The state department spends like the President they ultimately work for. It all rolls downhill.

Interesting stuff, OP. I suppose a bottle of Scotch is a good old fashion gesture of friendliness and good will. For Afghani tribal leaders it's Viagra from what I hear.

I hope everyone here at ATS knows how easy and cheap it is to make wine, hard cider and champagne in this recession/depression. It's keeping me happy on a very tight budget...the key is to get a variety of yeasts depending on the temperature you can pretty much make booze all year long. You almost can't go wrong with champagne yeasts.

Originally posted by groingrinder
There is NO REASON for any entity of the US Government to have a bill for liquor. We do not pay them to drink, but apparently they perceive otherwise.

What I find highly unusual is that the Federal bar tab DOUBLED in the same year that Senator Ted Kennedy (D-MA) died.

You would think that, after Teddy died, the alcoholic consumption in Washington would be cut in half... because Ted Kennedy was consuming the other half when he was alive.



— Doc Velocity




[edit on 4/15/2010 by Doc Velocity]

Well, Condoleezza doesn't strike me as much of a drinker and she was the daughter of a Presbyterian minister. So it doesn't strike me as odd to say she might frown upon consumption a bit.

But isn't the State Department in the business of diplomacy? Doesn't that require a lot of "WINING & Dining"? And with the way Obama's foreign policy is sitting with other nations we might have needed more of it in the last year than ever before.

Why haven't any Bible thumping politicians gone all 'Carrie Nation' on their butts?
Demon rum and Democrats.
It's an overlooked campaign strategy to gain the tee-totaler vote.

Originally posted by Doc Velocity

Originally posted by groingrinder
There is NO REASON for any entity of the US Government to have a bill for liquor. We do not pay them to drink, but apparently they perceive otherwise.

What I find highly unusual is that the Federal bar tab DOUBLED in the same year that Senator Ted Kennedy (D-MA) died.

You would think that, after Teddy died, the alcoholic consumption in Washington would be cut in half... because Ted Kennedy was consuming the other half when he was alive.

Thanks that made me laugh out loud!

Originally posted by groingrinder
There is NO REASON for any entity of the US Government to have a bill for liquor. We do not pay them to drink, but apparently they perceive otherwise.

Well I don't know, if the state department is trying to convince a foreign government to let the US place some weapons or bases there, maybe it's easier to get them to sign the agreement if they get them a little tipsy first?