Sunday, July 21, 2013

Jeff Pelline - Blogger with an Attitude Problem (Part II)

Yesterday (again), Jeff Pelline misleading smeared Congressman McClintock. Pelline, a local left-wing blogger, has been on a "McClintock bashing terror" of late. The reason is unknown especially considering McClintock is not even his congressman, but the misleading rhetoric is clear.

"A review of 'Legistorm' data by [Pelline] confirms McClintock's pension payment. But it also shows a big jump in his staff's salaries (31 percent since 2009, during the Great Recession) despite his preachy 'small-government' mantra."

This statement is highly misleading (only pointing out one category of expenses) and simply designed to wrongfully ridicule the congressman.

Each congressional office receives what is known as the Member's Representational Allowance ("MRA") and each district receives a different amount to spend on office rent, salaries, etc. The MRA for Congressman McClintock's district is about $1.5 million. Below are the total amounts spent in operating McClintock's congressional office by during his tenure in Congress.

2009 - $1,482,038.06
2010 - $1,399,056.72 (5.6% decrease in spending)
2011 - $1,373,453.97 (1.8% decrease in spending
2012 - $1,295,974.59 (5.6% decrease in spending)

These figures are provided from the congressional raw data at The Sunlight Foundation.

The difference between the MRA and the money actually spent (whatever is left over at the end of the year) is returned to the Treasury and spent directly on paying down the national debt. It should also be noted that, while most congressmen spend the entire MRA, McClintock (and Rand Paul) generally return about 6% of the MRA to the Treasury. When the MRA was recently reduced, most congressional offices needed to scramble in order to come in under budget. McClintock did not have that problem, as his office always budgets a healthy reserve.

It is clear based on all of the evidence, and not just statistics "cherry-picked" by a leftist blogger, that Congressman McClintock efficiently manages his congressional office in exactly the manner which he believes government should function - spend less than you bring in - and has consistently spent less each year.

Shame on Pelline for again misleading the public, but we expect nothing less from the former editor of The Union.

No comments:

Post a Comment