Jun 30 2008
Easley’s Wife Travels on Taxpayer Dime
Twice in the past two years, Mary Easley, the wife of Gov. Mike Easley, took taxpayer-funded trips across the Atlantic to tour museums.
Her travels — a trip to France in 2007 and one to Russia and Estonia in May — were paid for with $109,000 of taxpayer money.
Gov. Mike Easley did not go on either trip, which were not publicly disclosed at the time.
Mary Easley did not respond to requests for an interview, but expense reports and other documents released in response to a public records request indicate the trips were considered cultural exchanges to build links between North Carolina and officials in the countries visited.
Cultural exchanges my ass. $109,000 for just two trips? I could take 20 trips around the world with that kind of money. This is a clear case of a government official abusing their position to enrich their family and friends. We see it all the time, but they usually get away with it because too many voters are uninformed and too lazy to do their homework and they put them right back in office to waste some more.
The governor’s office referred questions to the Department of Cultural Resources, which sponsored the trips.
Easley’s been crying about scaling back tax cuts in the budget. How about instead the General Assembly save some money by eliminating the Department of Cultural Resources. They obviously can’t manage their money appropriately. Besides, what is the government’s need for this exactly?
