The federal government paid $16 each for muffins.
Last week, Teapublican megaphone, Fox News Channel, reverberated with charges that the Department of Justice purchased muffins at $16 apiece at law enforcement conferences in Denver, Colorado.
It was a sensational story.
Teapublican bully and buffoon, Bill OReilly used the story to excuse the fact that he and other millionaires pay lower taxes than the middle class. In his interview on The Daily Show, he said he wouldnt mind paying a little more taxes. But only when the federal government gets spending under control and stops wasting his money on things like $16 muffins. The only problem is that, as usual, OReilly is wrong.
According to Hilton Hotels where the law enforcement conferences were held, the $16 charge was actually for a full continental breakfast plus tax. Hardly the extravagant waste of taxpayer money that Fox claimed. And, of course, the alleged transgressions occurred during both the Bush and Obama administrations. (But Teapublicans conveniently ignored that fact.)
And before you make the claim that the cost is still unjustified, consider this. A large part of business and government work consists of meetings, and employees need to eat – even government employees. Additionally, $16 is hardly an outrageous sum for a meal. Have you ever ordered breakfast in a New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco or Washington, DC hotel? Compared to those prices, $16 for breakfast is a steal.
Of course, youre not likely to hear the truth about Muffingate on Fox News Channel. But that should come as no surprise. Fox News Channel seldom tells the truth about anything.