We tend to complain a
lot when our government in Nigeria spends money on ex politicians especially ex
presidents but I just got a report that shows America spent about 3.7million
dollars on four of its ex presidents in 2012…that’s in just one year, similarly
about 3.9million dollars was spent in
2011
The report says
Departing presidents get extra help in the first years after they leave office,
one reason that Bush's costs were higher than other living ex-presidents. The
most recent ex-president to leave the White House, Bush was granted almost
$400,000 for 8,000 square feet of office space in Dallas, plus $85,000 in
telephone costs. Another $60,000 went to travel costs. A total of $1.3 million
was spent on George W. Bush.
President Bill Clinton
came in second at just under $1 million, followed by George H.W. Bush at nearly
$850,000. Clinton spent the most government money on office space: $442,000 for
his 8,300 square foot digs in New York's Harlem neighborhood.
Clinton's predecessor,
President George H.W. Bush, received about $840,000 in federal funds last year.
Costs for Jimmy Carter, the only other living former president, came in at
about $500,000.
It also states Widows
of former presidents are entitled to a pension of $20,000, but Nancy Reagan,
the wife of former President Ronald Reagan, waived her pension last year. The
former first lady did accept $14,000 in postage.
Mind you, the cost
totals for ex-president don't include what the Secret Service spends protecting
them, their spouses and children. Those costs are part of a separate budget
that isn't made public.’’
Funding for
ex-presidents under the Former Presidents Act dates back to 1958, when Congress
created the program largely in response to President Harry Truman's post-White
House financial woes, the Congressional Research Service said. The goal was to
maintain the dignity of the presidency and help with ongoing costs associated
with being a former president, such as responding to correspondence and
scheduling requests.
So naija we might not
be alone in spending money on our ex presidents
OK OH
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