Charlie Rangel's (D-NY) response when asked about his lease of a nice new Cadillac, is simply a classic:
"I could probably find something for ... one of those wreck cars and then I think my constituents would say, 'With all the money that he gets, this is the respect he shows us?'" You see, gouging his poor constituents (Rangel's district is Harlem) is really a sign of respect for them! At least he only gouges his constituents for $700/Month. Meeks is charging his constituents (Jamaica, Queens, another exclusive area of New York City-home to "Get Rich or Die Trying", Fitty Cent) nearly a grand per month for his luxury ride!

When you look at some of the data presented in the story by Mr. Guzman, you will see that some of the Congressmen are leasing a more responsible vehicle at prices that are down-to-earth. Perhaps we should applaud these cases of fiscal restraint? I think not! Better that a responsible Congressman not take advantage of this outrageous perk at all! Still it is tempting to cite the more outrageous examples of leaching off the public trough. Consider Conyers's buddy, Greg Meeks, who leases a Lexus LS460 for $998/Month! And it's not just the lease that the taxpayer pays for. Tack onto that bill the gas, registration, insurance and all other fees associated with that form of transportation and you get the bigger picture.

Consider, also that the lease prices for these vehicles are considerably inflated, as compared to the prices you and I might pay. For instance, at Meade Lexus of Lakeside, the current Manager's Special includes an ES330 for $399/Month. In New York, prices are a bit higher, perhaps thanks in part to trial lawyers, but not that high. It seems that the government, in spending our money, is not nearly as careful a shopper as most of the taxpayers need to be. I guess they don't really need to be frugal as they are spending our money! Hey, maybe our Michigan Representatives could at least enact rules to require the leased vehicles to be American-made! Nah, probably not...

Others look at this perk as a small drop in the bucket that is the bloated Congressional budget. I take a more practical broken windows approach. It is the little "crimes" that our elected officials commit that we must point out and stop. If we don't, the message is that we don't care. If we don't care about outrageous lease prices being paid for by the taxpayers, then we won't care when they tack on some more outrageous perks. And, when we don't care enough to complain about such outrageous antics, we also won't care that the entire program is pretty much a secret!

We, as taxpayers and engaged members of the citizenry, have an obligation to elect people of character and integrity. That means we need to call them on their "sins". We need to hold their feet to the fire of public scrutiny. We cannot do that if we don't pay enough attention to ensure that our elected officials are  not taking us for a ride.