Clamantis, damn it, clamantis!

All right, I found another one. Actually, there are several.

This article, from the Jacksonville Florida Times-Union, reports on a trip taken by some Congressmen to South Korea, which may have been financed in a shady manner.

This is nothing new. It's not even worth reporting (Congressmen accept gifts and travel illegally? Oh no! I never would have believed it!), except that it has specific numbers, and numbers are fun. This article says that Rep. Ander Crenshaw and his wife travelled to South Korea a few years ago and spent... well, wait.

They went on a three-day trip to South Korea. While there, Crenshaw visited U.S. troops, placed a wreath at the 39th parallel (what exactly is that going to do for inter-Korean relations I wonder?), might have done some window-shopping, and did not play golf. And yet, he managed to rack up expenses totalling... wait...

$27,640!

I just wanted to put that on its own line. The man and his wife went out there for three days and didn't even do any shopping, and managed to spend 27 large of somebody else's money!

I'll grant that it's easier to spend somebody else's money than your own, but this is absurd. I figured, maybe it's just really expensive over there. So I sat down with Orbitz and planned myself a three-day trip to Seoul and Pusan, South Korea. Forthwith:

Two adults (Crenshaw took his wife, so I'm taking, uh... I'll get back to you) fly to Seoul, South Korea, from Jacksonville, Florida (in Crenshaw's district). They depart on 10 May (a Tuesday, several weeks in advance so the airfares won't be jacked up) and return on 12 May. Congressmen are busy, so I'll take the shortest available flight. In Seoul we'll rent a nice car and drive up to Panmunjom to place a wreath, then back to Seoul to spend the night in a high quality though not posh hotel. The following day we'll drive to Pusan for a day of window shopping and no golf, but we'll drive back in the evening to stay another night in Seoul. We fly out the next afternoon after visiting Osan Air Base to talk to the troops. We will eat at the nicest restaurants in town because we're not too sure about Korean food.

Flight for two, round trip, Jacksonville International Airport to Seoul Metropolitan Airport, shortest flight:
Delta/Air Tran, $1356 per person, including all taxes and fees ($2,712 total).

Rental car, full size, auto and air, unlimited mileage, pickup and dropoff at the airport, two days+: Avis, $225 plus insurance and gasoline. ($2,937 total).

Hotel, two nights, two people, one room:
Seoul Ritz-Carlton, $249/night. ($3,435 total).

Meals:
A full meal at Nolboojip, a high-quality country-style Korean restaurant in Seoul, will run about 10,000 won per person; that's about nine bucks. Round up (Congressmen have expensive tastes) to $15 a person for each meal, and assume three lunches, two dinners, and two breakfasts, gives us 7 meals at $15, or $105 per person, for a total of $210 for meals. ($3,645 total).

Round of beers at the officer's club at Osan: $200 ($3,845 total).

Wreath for 39th Parallel: $45 ($3,890 total).

Cheap souvenirs at airport: $30 ($4,020 total).

Okay, so that's airfare, a car, hotel, meals, and some incidentals, and I'm only coming up with four grand here. How in the HELL did Crenshaw and the wife manage to spend $23,000 on incidentals?

If you ask me, the scandal here isn't who paid for it, but that it had to be paid for at all. $27,640 for a three-day trip to ANYWHERE is absolutely ridiculous, especially considering that no shopping was done and no golf was played.

And we wonder why Congress and the President can't balance a budget.