# Palin Collected Travel Per Diems While At Home **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [September 9, 2008, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-collected-travel-per-diems-while-at-home/462778 "2008-09-09T14:19:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Steve\_MB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steve_mb/32/5339_2.png) [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2008, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-collected-travel-per-diems-while-at-home/462778/1 "2008-09-09T14:19:21Z")
[Palin Billed State for Nights Spent at Home](http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/09/08/AR2008090803088.html) > [@](#): > > Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin has billed taxpayers for 312 nights spent in her own home during her first 19 months in office, charging a “per diem” allowance intended to cover meals and incidental expenses while traveling on state business. Our “maverick reformer”, ladies and gentlemen… ---
**Author:** ![puddleglum](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puddleglum/32/137_2.png) [@puddleglum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puddleglum)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2008, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-collected-travel-per-diems-while-at-home/462778/2 "2008-09-09T14:29:44Z")
She saved the state $370,000 over the previous governor and has refused to bill the state for all of the money she is entitled to. She is a breathe of fresh air, especially compared to Biden who has cost the taxpayers millions for his Amtrack commute. Thanks for linking to that article Steve, it is a nice change of pace after all the Palin hate that intially greeting her announcement. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2008, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-collected-travel-per-diems-while-at-home/462778/3 "2008-09-09T14:29:59Z")
I’m curious what constitutes “official” state business for her husband and particularly her children. Is her husband officially employed by the state to work on behalf of his wife? Certainly, as noted in the article, it is hard to imagine how her children fall in to that category and particularly for the young ones. So how does that work? What is usual in any state? Do all Governors do this? Clearly it calls into question her claim of fiscal responsibility to save the tax payers money from wasteful spending. Personally I do not care if someone requests her children’s presence. They do not operate in any official capacity for the state despite their mother’s job. I guarantee you I could not take my children on working trips and expect to have my employer pay for it (if I had children anyway). ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2008, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-collected-travel-per-diems-while-at-home/462778/4 "2008-09-09T14:34:43Z")
> [@puddleglum](#): > > …especially compared to Biden who has cost the taxpayers millions for his Amtrack commute. Cite? Did he buy his own train or something? Is it any worse than charging the government for a place in Washington D.C. when all tallied? Or do you mean Biden has been a supporter of Amtrack in general and has pushed for more funding? Bit different than collecting “millions” personally to ride Amtrack. ---
**Author:** ![Maeglin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8baadc/32.png) [@Maeglin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maeglin)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2008, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-collected-travel-per-diems-while-at-home/462778/5 "2008-09-09T14:47:47Z")
> [@puddleglum](#): > > She saved the state $370,000 over the previous governor and has refused to bill the state for all of the money she is entitled to. She is a breathe of fresh air, especially compared to Biden who has cost the taxpayers millions for his Amtrack commute. > Thanks for linking to that article Steve, it is a nice change of pace after all the Palin hate that intially greeting her announcement. Didn’t read the whole article? > [@](#): > > In the past, per diem claims by Alaska state officials have carried political risks. In 1988, the head of the state Commerce Department was pilloried for collecting a per diem charge of $50 while staying in his Anchorage home, according to local news accounts. The commissioner, the late Tony Smith, resigned amid a series of controversies. > > “It was quite the little scandal,” said Tony Knowles, the Democratic governor from 1994 to 2000. “I gave a direction to all my commissioners if they were ever in their house, whether it was Juneau or elsewhere, they were not to get a per diem because, clearly, it is and it looks like a scam – you pay yourself to live at home,” he said. ---
**Author:** ![Jas09](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d07c76/32.png) [@Jas09](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jas09)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2008, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-collected-travel-per-diems-while-at-home/462778/6 "2008-09-09T14:49:08Z")
> [@puddleglum](#): > > She saved the state $370,000 over the previous governor and has refused to bill the state for all of the money she is entitled to. You do know that the previous governor was considered one of the most corrupt politicians in America, with his chief-of-staff pleading guilty in a corruption probe, right? Hence him losing the primary to Palin in the first place (coming in third, actually). So, yeah, she’s more fiscally conservative than him… Do you have any comments on taking the per diem for days she was staying at her own house? Is that responsible, conservative government? Would you say the same thing if it were Biden doing that (oh wait, your post already stated your position on his travel expenses…). ---
**Author:** ![Hamlet](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hamlet/32/2818_2.png) [@Hamlet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hamlet)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2008, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-collected-travel-per-diems-while-at-home/462778/7 "2008-09-09T14:56:22Z")
> [@Jas09](#): > > You do know that the previous governor was considered one of the most corrupt politicians in America, with his chief-of-staff pleading guilty in a corruption probe, right? Hence him losing the primary to Palin in the first place (coming in third, actually). So, yeah, she’s more fiscally conservative than him. And, in the end, isn’t that all that matters. As long as there exists someone they can point to who is doing something worse, that makes what they did OK. ---
**Author:** ![puddleglum](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puddleglum/32/137_2.png) [@puddleglum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puddleglum)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2008, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-collected-travel-per-diems-while-at-home/462778/8 "2008-09-09T15:10:39Z")
> [@Maeglin](#): > > Didn’t read the whole article? I read the whole article and was as shocked as you were that a Democrat politician had something bad to say about the Republican vice presidential nominee. Shook me to my core, it did. The facts in the article are that Palin has saved the state money, and has refused to bill the state for everything she is entitled to under the law. Amtrack loses millions of taxpayer dollars every year. Biden is one of its biggest supporters, I am sure the fact he personally benefits from Amtrak is just coincidence. ---
**Author:** ![Maeglin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8baadc/32.png) [@Maeglin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maeglin)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2008, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-collected-travel-per-diems-while-at-home/462778/9 "2008-09-09T15:16:00Z")
> [@puddleglum](#): > > I read the whole article and was as shocked as you were that a Democrat politician had something bad to say about the Republican vice presidential nominee. Shook me to my core, it did. > The facts in the article are that Palin has saved the state money, and has refused to bill the state for everything she is entitled to under the law. > Amtrack loses millions of taxpayer dollars every year. Biden is one of its biggest supporters, I am sure the fact he personally benefits from Amtrak is just coincidence. Illogical. The interviewee was not just a democrat politician with something bad to say about a republican, but a democrat politician who was lambasted for doing the same thing she did. I have to wonder who his political opponents were who brought him down for making lawful but bogus T&E charges. Second, the idea that she saved the state money is risible. Spending somewhat less money on bogus T&E than her spectacularly corrupt predecessor is not the same thing is “saving the state money”. It just makes her somewhat less corrupt. ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_MB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steve_mb/32/5339_2.png) [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2008, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-collected-travel-per-diems-while-at-home/462778/10 "2008-09-09T15:16:50Z")
> [@puddleglum](#): > > I read the whole article Apparently you missed this part: > [@](#): > > In the past, per diem claims by Alaska state officials have carried political risks. In 1988, the head of the state Commerce Department was pilloried for collecting a per diem charge of $50 while staying in his Anchorage home, according to local news accounts. The commissioner, the late Tony Smith, resigned amid a series of controversies. > > “It was quite the little scandal,” said Tony Knowles, the Democratic governor from 1994 to 2000. “I gave a direction to all my commissioners if they were ever in their house, whether it was Juneau or elsewhere, they were not to get a per diem because, **clearly, it is and it looks like a scam – you pay yourself to live at home** ,” he said. ---
**Author:** ![DoctorJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctorj/32/2904_2.png) [@DoctorJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DoctorJ)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2008, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-collected-travel-per-diems-while-at-home/462778/11 "2008-09-09T15:20:03Z")
> [@](#): > > I read the whole article and was as shocked as you were that a **Democrat** politician had something bad to say about the Republican vice presidential nominee. The adjective is “Democratic”. ---
**Author:** ![Jas09](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d07c76/32.png) [@Jas09](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jas09)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2008, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-collected-travel-per-diems-while-at-home/462778/12 "2008-09-09T15:20:33Z")
> [@puddleglum](#): > > I read the whole article and was as shocked as you were that a Democrat politician had something bad to say about the Republican vice presidential nominee. Shook me to my core, it did. > The facts in the article are that Palin has saved the state money, and has refused to bill the state for everything she is entitled to under the law. You still haven’t answered the question. Do you believe it is ethical behavior to collect a per diem for nights spent at your own home, regardless of whether it is legal? > [@puddleglum](#): > > Amtrack loses millions of taxpayer dollars every year. Biden is one of its biggest supporters, I am sure the fact he personally benefits from Amtrak is just coincidence. As for this, the implication that the 70 senators and over 300 congressmen that voted for the last Amtrak appropriation all derive personal benefits from it is somewhat amusing. Or is it just Joe Biden that is compelled to vote for purely personal reasons? ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2008, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-collected-travel-per-diems-while-at-home/462778/13 "2008-09-09T15:23:26Z")
This is just the start of the whirlwind McCain is going to reap for failing to vet Palin properly. I am confident that there will be a steady drip, drip, drip of new scandals and embarassments from now until the election. I think the odds of Palin leaving the ticket are now a non-zero number. ---
**Author:** ![Jas09](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d07c76/32.png) [@Jas09](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jas09)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2008, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-collected-travel-per-diems-while-at-home/462778/14 "2008-09-09T15:51:54Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > This is just the start of the whirlwind McCain is going to reap for failing to vet Palin properly. I am confident that there will be a steady drip, drip, drip of new scandals and embarassments from now until the election. I think the odds of Palin leaving the ticket are now a non-zero number. Can’t happen. McCain has no choice but to ride it out - this was his big gamble (remember those articles a few month ago about his love for high-stakes craps). Without Palin he doesn’t get the GOTV effort, money, and turnout he needs to make it competitive in OH, VA, CO - and he has to win all three of those (and FL). This has fired them up big-time (hence the big swing in non-weighted surveys like Gallup - more people identifying as Republican instead of Independent) and to dump her now would prove he’s not “one of them” once and for all. He’s made his bet, now he’s just waiting for the dice to finish rolling. ---
**Author:** ![Menocchio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9de053/32.png) [@Menocchio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Menocchio)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2008, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-collected-travel-per-diems-while-at-home/462778/15 "2008-09-09T15:52:38Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > This is just the start of the whirlwind McCain is going to reap for failing to vet Palin properly. I am confident that there will be a steady drip, drip, drip of new scandals and embarassments from now until the election. I think the odds of Palin leaving the ticket are now a non-zero number. Don’t kid yourself. Palin is now the darling of the right and white women who don’t actually care about issues. Dropping Palin would be suicide for McCain. In fact, politically speaking, McCain dying would be better for the Republicans than dropping Palin. No, Palin’s on the ticket unless there’s something truly horrifying lurking in the shadows. Like an actual murder or an abortion. Or taking bribes from the Saudis. The kind of petty corruption and hypocrisies we’ve been seeing won’t affect anything. These people are Republicans, do you really think it’s in their character to admit an error? ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2008, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-collected-travel-per-diems-while-at-home/462778/16 "2008-09-09T15:55:03Z")
> [@Jas09](#): > > This has fired them up big-time (hence the big swing in non-weighted surveys like Gallup - more people identifying as Republican instead of Independent) and to dump her now would prove he’s not “one of them” once and for all. He’s made his bet, now he’s just waiting for the dice to finish rolling. Oh, I don’t think he will dump her now; but he would cut her loose like deuce if the fickle Palindrones decide she isn’t The One they were hoping for and the polls drop as quickly as they rose.. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2008, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-collected-travel-per-diems-while-at-home/462778/17 "2008-09-09T15:59:09Z")
I smell fear. And every time someone starts another of these “Smear of the Day” threads it smells sweeter. It’s starting to sink in - you really might lose this thing. Better get your election fraud excuses ready. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2008, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-collected-travel-per-diems-while-at-home/462778/18 "2008-09-09T16:01:17Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > I smell fear. I smell hand waving. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2008, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-collected-travel-per-diems-while-at-home/462778/19 "2008-09-09T16:15:56Z")
> [@Menocchio](#): > > These people are Republicans, do you really think it’s in their character to admit an error? BINGO! Admit no errors, play the victim, and if confronted with the truth? First try to spin, and if that does not work then lie outrageously. ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_MB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steve_mb/32/5339_2.png) [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2008, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-collected-travel-per-diems-while-at-home/462778/20 "2008-09-09T16:16:53Z")
> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > BINGO! Admit no errors, play the victim, and if confronted with the truth? First try to spin, and if that does not work then lie outrageously. Why do you hate America? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-collected-travel-per-diems-while-at-home/462778.md?page=2)