Chris Christie's Car Ride

http://www.futureofcapitalism.com/2010/11/chris-christie-car-ride

The New York Times has a news article, based on a Department of Justice Inspector General report, on Chris Christie's travel expenses as U.S. Attorney, before he became governor of New Jersey:

The report also noted the reimbursements Mr. Christie received for airport transportation costs. Rather than taking a taxi for the four-mile trip between his hotel and the Boston airport, he took a car service costing $236. A similar arrangement for a London trip cost $562.

To me what's as telling here as Mr. Christie's car service is the Times-DOJ inspector general comparison. The assumption seems to be that the baseline cheapest possible option is a taxi. When I travel from the London or Boston airport to a hotel, I usually take the subway. Not only is it a lot cheaper, you don't have to worry about getting caught in traffic. And it's my taxes paying for Mr. Christie. It's infuriating.

I suppose Mr. Christie might be able to defend himself by saying it was off-hours and the subway wasn't running, or he had a lot of luggage, or he was traveling with a bunch of other people so that by sharing a car the difference with the subway wasn't really that much, or he had to be above-ground and available by cellphone in case of a New Jersey crime emergency, or that in the grand scheme of things, a few hundred dollars doesn't make much of a difference, or that his salary as U.S. Attorney was so low compared to what private-sector law firm partners make that he is entitled to at least travel in style. Still, the contrast between how a lot of Americans spend their own money and how government officials spend taxpayer money isn't a particularly favorable one for Mr. Christie.

by Ira Stoll  |  Nov 9, 2010 at 8:34 am Related Topics:  Compensation, Politics receive the latest by email: subscribe to the free futureofcapitalism.com mailing list