Isn’t using OP $ the way of our government? Look at SB over ten million in debt, still spent $11million beautifying an underpass. Not to mention over a million didn’t on numerous reports of what to do with State St and then there’s the millions they spend on homeless each year without actually reducing the amount of people living on the street.
So they use these irresponsible spending practices as an excuse to raise your taxes. Using OP money to continue their irresponsible spending.
Using Air Force 2 for campaigning is not using it for official business. Of course, she is not alone in abusing that loophole. Also, as I think public servants are working for the taxpayer and getting paid for full time work, they should campaign ON THEIR OWN TIME.
You can use it - you just need to pay for it. "Federal Election Commission (FEC) guidelines require candidates or their authorized committees to reimburse the federal government for the use of government aircraft for campaign purposes"
They often tack some gratuitous official business on to a trip to sanitize its use. Were you not recently asking about the "800 US military bases around the world".
One other use beside providing a global security presence worldwide, is to allow First Ladies to make foreign junkets, after declaring their WH project is to "support military families".
So off they go, often with friends in two to have a short tea with the base officers wives and do a little more shopping and sight-seeing along the way, as long as they are in the country.
Michelle Obama, here is looking at you - you were alwaysso known for your prior love of US military personnel (ha!) so this was a perfect First Lady Project for you. Buon viaggio.
I'd be interested in if you had any source that says which first ladies flew where? Or is this just conjecture? I would have thought it was Hilary...... but that is just a guess. I'm also guessing the next first lady will be a ghost to the people of the country - but we'll see.
Dems see all money earned primarily their money to spend, and they alone are the arbiters what we should be able to keep for ourselves.
GOP sees all earned money as their own money, and will give up only what the IRS Code demands. This is a very fundamental difference between the two parties.
Dependence on OP’s is how most in our country survive. Very view Americans desire freedom; the vast majority seek and vote to be taken care of with ‘Other People’s’ money. The demographic majority are financially dependent on tax payor sourced checks from their government jobs from education, medical care, and the arts to positions at the local, state, and federal government. Others claim rights to social security checks for durations and amounts far beyond the amounts paid in (even with compounded interest), SSI, plus support free Medicare, Medicaid/ MediCal, Covered California, ObamaCare, food, and tell loudly for subsidized affordable housing. These screamers don’t care the source of OP’s money — taxpayer, developer or landlord — because of their entitlement mentality. In Santa Barbara County, locals demand more, more, and more be redistributed to them. Sadly, no Trump appointed official dare ‘free the dependent masses’. In CA where 98% of our growth is from illegal immigration (an estimated 9-11 Million residents of 38M statewide), we experience daily the enormous realities confronting us, IF freedom as described in the US Constitution actually is our shared goal. Most Californians are OP’s dependent, they like being ‘taken care of’, and use their voices and vote to safeguard the status quo.
Montecito, where on earth do you get your stats? How do you know “very few Americans desire freedom”? I would say quite the opposite based on the last election which was decidedly a vote against the tyrannical elites who were taking our freedoms away.
Are you saying people seek being taken care of instead of having freedom? I don't think so. Certainly, most of the population doesn't think like you do. Yes, all the different government employees might think that way, but I don't get that close to any that I would have the opportunity to ask.
One of my favorite Broadway musicals is the Tenderloin and the song, "Isn't it Grand How the Money Changes Hands." You need to hear this song to remember what the Dems did. Other People's or OP's is a great term to remember. I would never have thought all these celebrities were actually being paid.
But here they are being paid exorbitant fees and the donors not having a clue they were funding celebrities that don't need the money ... I almost shit my pants when I heard about this a few days ago. Of course, when "money changes hands," you have to ask about kickbacks. If Oprah gets a million, how much does Kamala and her gang get to fill their pockets? There appears to be an incentive to spend OP's money so they can get their own share of it. Harris campaign "donated" $500K to Al Sharpton. I'm sure the Dem Dumb Dumb donors loved that one, too. What a piece of shit the Harris campaign are to spend donor money in this manner.
Al Sharpton receiving $500K was probably to pay for the MLK (Martin Luther King) protest which coincides on Election Day. Maybe the Harris campaign already knew they were doomed when they gave Sharpton the "donation." Probably includes payment for future Trump protests, too.
$500K to that ridiculous clown Al Sharpton? For what . . . an MLK 'prtotest'? Ha! You can imagine how much of it went for any legit purpose. The Commie-Dems - at it again.
It's only "Other People's Money," so the amount handed out doesn't matter. The more they give the more they get in return. Since the Dem donors found out about where the campaign funds went to, the anti-Trump, "non-profit" organizations are having difficulty raising money now. If this is going on nationally, you can be sure it goes on at the local government levels, too. The Hollywood types probably knew they could make a quick buck and were lining up for the handout. All Oprah had to do was be a carnival barker introducing all the celebs and Harris. She probably didn't care whether or not Harris won. Winfrey got her million bucks.
Quite a change from just a few years back when I would hear the Dems complaining about the amounts of money in politics and would constantly cry that we must get the money out of politics. I wish the people that were influenced by that money and seldom pay attention to politicswould hear your words so they too could be appalled. Unfortunately, there is a whole host of people that barely pay attention every four years. I called them Democrats.
Psssst, they really meant get money out of the oppositions hands .Exactly where did that one billion dollars of sudden cash come from? Name names and any any affiliated bundlers.
Brian- Regardless of political affiliation - Republicans included very few voters pay any attention to politics at any level. Theres no interest, no time, its overwhelming, and/or they doubt one person’s activism n matters. Coalitions do make a difference.
Now is the time for each of us to reach out to others to form issue focused coalitions. What are your priority concerns? Which one deserves your commitment of time to advocate?
Landlords with other locals concerned about the future of old, decaying Santa Barbara (plus adverse impacts of SBCAN, CAUSE, Etc) organized over the planned 2% rent control cap by both the City and County.
Wouldn't it be great if Trump performs a highly successful and fantastic job treating the government operation as a non-profit business enterprise, the country could vote for an additional four years of the same and miss an election all together. Even better, do away with politics ... ask the brain, Elon, how he would do that. Run the country like an efficient business.
Excellent column, Brent, equal parts hilarious and horrifying. I bet Fat Jack had a lot of stories about people using OP$ in Jersey. My grandfather, Snuffy, owned a legendary restaurant in Scotch Plains, New Jersey. He always told me one of the secrets to his long success was looking the other way when certain official people stole a little. “Because those people make it possible for me not to have to pay a lot to other people, get it?” If only our current officials had that much class.
Kamala’s capers? How about Kamala’s illegalities? Seriously, aren’t these campaign finance violations? Shouldn’t we be talking about the DOJ opening an investigation, instead of going after a young entrepreneur’s betting site who correctly called the election, only to be served with a FBI search warrant? With over $1 billion spent on the failed Harris campaign, the question has to be asked, where did all the money go? This is no more than a Ponzi scheme! But this is what Dems do, they line their pockets with our money with a myriad of schemes and con games. So looking forward to the new DOJ, headed by AG Matt Gaetz and DOGE headed by Elon Musk to drain this cesspool. The liberals are going nuts over the possibility of the music stopping and there are no more chairs! Can’t wait to see the propaganda arm of the DNC to be unfunded. That’s right NPR and PBS need to stand on their own.
This election has proven to all how much the left are nothing more than grifters, liars and frauds. They use shiny objects like racism, transgenderism, climate change and abortion rights to distract us from the criminals they are!
The selection of Matt Gaetz and Pete Hegseth proves to all, Trumps resolve to change the trajectory of the criminal enterprise known as libertarianism and the Democratic Party! Pelosi, Biden, Waters and Schumer should be immediately investigated.
This reads like how the Left runs government. OP - Other Peoples Money.
What has Sacramento done with transportation? Oh that is right, used thugs in a non-elected board to raise the cost of gasoline when air quality and carbon use is down. You know like Sen. Scott Weiner states public mass transit is broken and then a rail depot is being built in Goleta that has no demand. OP - Other Peoples Money.
Hey how about RHNA? Forcing density and community destruction that includes narrowing and closing down streets. You know like Goleta Old Town, and Death Valley (State St.) where using OP - Other Peoples Money to create a fantasy that fails. Is that the KH campaign?
How about giving OP to supposed non-profits who actually are PAC's to keep the big government trolls in office?
This is article is a great template for seeing what the other-side is willing to do --- like a $46 Billion State of Calilf. deficit.
Democrats really don't spend "other people's money" since they think it is all their money to start out with. We owe them what they deem is their fair share of our money. Then, they call it a tax break, when they let us keep our own money. They see this through very different eyes.
Witness the recent Measure P (SBCC) - they spent our money like drunken sailors the past ten years on themselves, came up short and then demanded we make up the difference. They put nothing on the table themselves, besides a very expensive con job.
South County Santa Barbara needs you/ Cars Are Basic on Team Elon-Vivak as our local government efficiency czar with a loud megaphone and staff support. You’ve the depth of historical and current knowledge to be effective. Your posts on SBCurrent always are informative & appreciated. I look forward to articles detailing government lies, deceit, and wasteful spending; and the formation of coalitions to advocate.
Thank you for writing. I'm surprised at the actual amount of over a billion. When first "decided" that Harris would run, there was talk of around $100 mil. in the Biden/Harris war chest. The concern was how could Harris extract and use the funds for just the Harris campaign. It's rather interesting that the "stars" charged for their appearances to support Harris, but do we know how much they contributed? The difference in spending between the two campaigns is astounding! Your point of spending OPs money is so true. Governments creative solution to overspending seems to be only more taxation. There are, indeed other solutions: #1, reduce government.
Maybe Harris thinks too much about the Feds simply printing money, so the campaign cost didn't matter. What bothers me is all those bucks going into medical research might have resulted in cures for diseases. What a waste of money spending it on Harris ... all going to services like media airtime, nothing tangible. If there was a need for anything tangible, the purchases would have gone to China. What a screwed up society we live in.
Truly thankful to God that we were spared four more years of the mismanagement recounted here. Even more interesting would be a list of people, companies and groups who gave her a billion dollars. What folly
Maybe, could it be possible, if I were to write a fictionalized account of the past few months, there was upfront deal with Harris with a promise of one billion dollars that Harris could spend on her "friends", if she accepted the 2024 token nomination after Democrats ditched Biden.
With all parties knowing she would not/could not win the 2024 election. Her own campaign allegedly was already seen predicting Trump would take 400 electoral votes. This was a duck dead in the water campaign.
But Democrats also knew Biden was not going to win either. So how do they plot, in my fictionalized account, to exit 2024 with the least long-term damage?
Let's assume Democrats want a clear slate for 2028. They did not want any Harris as VP baggage in 2028.
So maybe, just maybe Harris could have been offered a billion dollars in walking around money, as part of a daisy chain kickback to eventually coming back to her. Guaranteed book "sales" for a quickly written ghost-author tell all book could have been proposed for possible money laundering. (Gasp) This sort "book" deal has been played before with others. Harris campaign known book lovers alone could have promised for the genuine love of Kamala to push her soon to be published book and even promise to buy endless copies to hand out for "freeeee". In this sort of fictionalized quid pro quo deal. You help us, we help you.
Some completely uninteresting Democrats,with nary an original thought, nor ability to string a written sentance together on their own, suddenly become NYT best selling authors and command top speaker fees. Everyone suddenly just has to buy their book(s). Happens.
Just speculating, of course. Opinion of the poster only and not of this publication. No facts support this completely fictionalized made up story line. Just an exploration of too much inbred and earned political cynicism. YMMV.
Follow the crazy money….if you can💰💰💰💰💰 Great analysis Brent, and it’s amazing how the little things in life teach us about the big things. It’s good we pay attention.
Only if I knew I could provide a good return to those that gave me money; presumably for investing purposes. As of now I'd have to answer NO to the question. Money I would be taking would be considered stolen. The Dem campaign could be considered using stolen money, in my opinion. I think the average campaign donor thinks of paying mainly for media airtime plus traveling around to different campaign events and setting up equipment, etc.
Isn’t using OP $ the way of our government? Look at SB over ten million in debt, still spent $11million beautifying an underpass. Not to mention over a million didn’t on numerous reports of what to do with State St and then there’s the millions they spend on homeless each year without actually reducing the amount of people living on the street.
So they use these irresponsible spending practices as an excuse to raise your taxes. Using OP money to continue their irresponsible spending.
Stop Seriously, fire these incompetent people.
The city can look forward to lawsuits, too.
Using Air Force 2 for campaigning is not using it for official business. Of course, she is not alone in abusing that loophole. Also, as I think public servants are working for the taxpayer and getting paid for full time work, they should campaign ON THEIR OWN TIME.
You can use it - you just need to pay for it. "Federal Election Commission (FEC) guidelines require candidates or their authorized committees to reimburse the federal government for the use of government aircraft for campaign purposes"
Interesting. Thank you. Do you suppose the reimbursement is shown online somewhere? J Livingston does have a point without doubt
She has a point - but with out any data it's just an opinion.
They often tack some gratuitous official business on to a trip to sanitize its use. Were you not recently asking about the "800 US military bases around the world".
One other use beside providing a global security presence worldwide, is to allow First Ladies to make foreign junkets, after declaring their WH project is to "support military families".
So off they go, often with friends in two to have a short tea with the base officers wives and do a little more shopping and sight-seeing along the way, as long as they are in the country.
Michelle Obama, here is looking at you - you were alwaysso known for your prior love of US military personnel (ha!) so this was a perfect First Lady Project for you. Buon viaggio.
I'd be interested in if you had any source that says which first ladies flew where? Or is this just conjecture? I would have thought it was Hilary...... but that is just a guess. I'm also guessing the next first lady will be a ghost to the people of the country - but we'll see.
Dems and money is always a bad mix
Dems see all money earned primarily their money to spend, and they alone are the arbiters what we should be able to keep for ourselves.
GOP sees all earned money as their own money, and will give up only what the IRS Code demands. This is a very fundamental difference between the two parties.
Thank goodness she is out. Great example of how our taxes are spent on things that are not giving us any protection or value.
Dependence on OP’s is how most in our country survive. Very view Americans desire freedom; the vast majority seek and vote to be taken care of with ‘Other People’s’ money. The demographic majority are financially dependent on tax payor sourced checks from their government jobs from education, medical care, and the arts to positions at the local, state, and federal government. Others claim rights to social security checks for durations and amounts far beyond the amounts paid in (even with compounded interest), SSI, plus support free Medicare, Medicaid/ MediCal, Covered California, ObamaCare, food, and tell loudly for subsidized affordable housing. These screamers don’t care the source of OP’s money — taxpayer, developer or landlord — because of their entitlement mentality. In Santa Barbara County, locals demand more, more, and more be redistributed to them. Sadly, no Trump appointed official dare ‘free the dependent masses’. In CA where 98% of our growth is from illegal immigration (an estimated 9-11 Million residents of 38M statewide), we experience daily the enormous realities confronting us, IF freedom as described in the US Constitution actually is our shared goal. Most Californians are OP’s dependent, they like being ‘taken care of’, and use their voices and vote to safeguard the status quo.
Montecito, where on earth do you get your stats? How do you know “very few Americans desire freedom”? I would say quite the opposite based on the last election which was decidedly a vote against the tyrannical elites who were taking our freedoms away.
Are you saying people seek being taken care of instead of having freedom? I don't think so. Certainly, most of the population doesn't think like you do. Yes, all the different government employees might think that way, but I don't get that close to any that I would have the opportunity to ask.
One of my favorite Broadway musicals is the Tenderloin and the song, "Isn't it Grand How the Money Changes Hands." You need to hear this song to remember what the Dems did. Other People's or OP's is a great term to remember. I would never have thought all these celebrities were actually being paid.
But here they are being paid exorbitant fees and the donors not having a clue they were funding celebrities that don't need the money ... I almost shit my pants when I heard about this a few days ago. Of course, when "money changes hands," you have to ask about kickbacks. If Oprah gets a million, how much does Kamala and her gang get to fill their pockets? There appears to be an incentive to spend OP's money so they can get their own share of it. Harris campaign "donated" $500K to Al Sharpton. I'm sure the Dem Dumb Dumb donors loved that one, too. What a piece of shit the Harris campaign are to spend donor money in this manner.
Al Sharpton receiving $500K was probably to pay for the MLK (Martin Luther King) protest which coincides on Election Day. Maybe the Harris campaign already knew they were doomed when they gave Sharpton the "donation." Probably includes payment for future Trump protests, too.
$500K to that ridiculous clown Al Sharpton? For what . . . an MLK 'prtotest'? Ha! You can imagine how much of it went for any legit purpose. The Commie-Dems - at it again.
It's only "Other People's Money," so the amount handed out doesn't matter. The more they give the more they get in return. Since the Dem donors found out about where the campaign funds went to, the anti-Trump, "non-profit" organizations are having difficulty raising money now. If this is going on nationally, you can be sure it goes on at the local government levels, too. The Hollywood types probably knew they could make a quick buck and were lining up for the handout. All Oprah had to do was be a carnival barker introducing all the celebs and Harris. She probably didn't care whether or not Harris won. Winfrey got her million bucks.
Raid the treasury and hire the relatives - Democrat favorite fast track to third world status.
Quite a change from just a few years back when I would hear the Dems complaining about the amounts of money in politics and would constantly cry that we must get the money out of politics. I wish the people that were influenced by that money and seldom pay attention to politicswould hear your words so they too could be appalled. Unfortunately, there is a whole host of people that barely pay attention every four years. I called them Democrats.
Psssst, they really meant get money out of the oppositions hands .Exactly where did that one billion dollars of sudden cash come from? Name names and any any affiliated bundlers.
Brian- Regardless of political affiliation - Republicans included very few voters pay any attention to politics at any level. Theres no interest, no time, its overwhelming, and/or they doubt one person’s activism n matters. Coalitions do make a difference.
Now is the time for each of us to reach out to others to form issue focused coalitions. What are your priority concerns? Which one deserves your commitment of time to advocate?
Landlords with other locals concerned about the future of old, decaying Santa Barbara (plus adverse impacts of SBCAN, CAUSE, Etc) organized over the planned 2% rent control cap by both the City and County.
Sorry, but I have trouble with people that hide behind screen names. If you’d like to text and talk, let me know.
Wouldn't it be great if Trump performs a highly successful and fantastic job treating the government operation as a non-profit business enterprise, the country could vote for an additional four years of the same and miss an election all together. Even better, do away with politics ... ask the brain, Elon, how he would do that. Run the country like an efficient business.
Excellent column, Brent, equal parts hilarious and horrifying. I bet Fat Jack had a lot of stories about people using OP$ in Jersey. My grandfather, Snuffy, owned a legendary restaurant in Scotch Plains, New Jersey. He always told me one of the secrets to his long success was looking the other way when certain official people stole a little. “Because those people make it possible for me not to have to pay a lot to other people, get it?” If only our current officials had that much class.
I like 'Snuffy' already! How the heck did he come up with that great name?
Kamala’s capers? How about Kamala’s illegalities? Seriously, aren’t these campaign finance violations? Shouldn’t we be talking about the DOJ opening an investigation, instead of going after a young entrepreneur’s betting site who correctly called the election, only to be served with a FBI search warrant? With over $1 billion spent on the failed Harris campaign, the question has to be asked, where did all the money go? This is no more than a Ponzi scheme! But this is what Dems do, they line their pockets with our money with a myriad of schemes and con games. So looking forward to the new DOJ, headed by AG Matt Gaetz and DOGE headed by Elon Musk to drain this cesspool. The liberals are going nuts over the possibility of the music stopping and there are no more chairs! Can’t wait to see the propaganda arm of the DNC to be unfunded. That’s right NPR and PBS need to stand on their own.
This election has proven to all how much the left are nothing more than grifters, liars and frauds. They use shiny objects like racism, transgenderism, climate change and abortion rights to distract us from the criminals they are!
The selection of Matt Gaetz and Pete Hegseth proves to all, Trumps resolve to change the trajectory of the criminal enterprise known as libertarianism and the Democratic Party! Pelosi, Biden, Waters and Schumer should be immediately investigated.
And we wonder why we’re going broke.
This reads like how the Left runs government. OP - Other Peoples Money.
What has Sacramento done with transportation? Oh that is right, used thugs in a non-elected board to raise the cost of gasoline when air quality and carbon use is down. You know like Sen. Scott Weiner states public mass transit is broken and then a rail depot is being built in Goleta that has no demand. OP - Other Peoples Money.
Hey how about RHNA? Forcing density and community destruction that includes narrowing and closing down streets. You know like Goleta Old Town, and Death Valley (State St.) where using OP - Other Peoples Money to create a fantasy that fails. Is that the KH campaign?
How about giving OP to supposed non-profits who actually are PAC's to keep the big government trolls in office?
This is article is a great template for seeing what the other-side is willing to do --- like a $46 Billion State of Calilf. deficit.
Democrats really don't spend "other people's money" since they think it is all their money to start out with. We owe them what they deem is their fair share of our money. Then, they call it a tax break, when they let us keep our own money. They see this through very different eyes.
Witness the recent Measure P (SBCC) - they spent our money like drunken sailors the past ten years on themselves, came up short and then demanded we make up the difference. They put nothing on the table themselves, besides a very expensive con job.
South County Santa Barbara needs you/ Cars Are Basic on Team Elon-Vivak as our local government efficiency czar with a loud megaphone and staff support. You’ve the depth of historical and current knowledge to be effective. Your posts on SBCurrent always are informative & appreciated. I look forward to articles detailing government lies, deceit, and wasteful spending; and the formation of coalitions to advocate.
Thank you for writing. I'm surprised at the actual amount of over a billion. When first "decided" that Harris would run, there was talk of around $100 mil. in the Biden/Harris war chest. The concern was how could Harris extract and use the funds for just the Harris campaign. It's rather interesting that the "stars" charged for their appearances to support Harris, but do we know how much they contributed? The difference in spending between the two campaigns is astounding! Your point of spending OPs money is so true. Governments creative solution to overspending seems to be only more taxation. There are, indeed other solutions: #1, reduce government.
Maybe Harris thinks too much about the Feds simply printing money, so the campaign cost didn't matter. What bothers me is all those bucks going into medical research might have resulted in cures for diseases. What a waste of money spending it on Harris ... all going to services like media airtime, nothing tangible. If there was a need for anything tangible, the purchases would have gone to China. What a screwed up society we live in.
Truly thankful to God that we were spared four more years of the mismanagement recounted here. Even more interesting would be a list of people, companies and groups who gave her a billion dollars. What folly
Maybe, could it be possible, if I were to write a fictionalized account of the past few months, there was upfront deal with Harris with a promise of one billion dollars that Harris could spend on her "friends", if she accepted the 2024 token nomination after Democrats ditched Biden.
With all parties knowing she would not/could not win the 2024 election. Her own campaign allegedly was already seen predicting Trump would take 400 electoral votes. This was a duck dead in the water campaign.
But Democrats also knew Biden was not going to win either. So how do they plot, in my fictionalized account, to exit 2024 with the least long-term damage?
Let's assume Democrats want a clear slate for 2028. They did not want any Harris as VP baggage in 2028.
So maybe, just maybe Harris could have been offered a billion dollars in walking around money, as part of a daisy chain kickback to eventually coming back to her. Guaranteed book "sales" for a quickly written ghost-author tell all book could have been proposed for possible money laundering. (Gasp) This sort "book" deal has been played before with others. Harris campaign known book lovers alone could have promised for the genuine love of Kamala to push her soon to be published book and even promise to buy endless copies to hand out for "freeeee". In this sort of fictionalized quid pro quo deal. You help us, we help you.
Some completely uninteresting Democrats,with nary an original thought, nor ability to string a written sentance together on their own, suddenly become NYT best selling authors and command top speaker fees. Everyone suddenly just has to buy their book(s). Happens.
Just speculating, of course. Opinion of the poster only and not of this publication. No facts support this completely fictionalized made up story line. Just an exploration of too much inbred and earned political cynicism. YMMV.
Follow the crazy money….if you can💰💰💰💰💰 Great analysis Brent, and it’s amazing how the little things in life teach us about the big things. It’s good we pay attention.
I’d use other’s people’s money if I could get my hands on it - wouldn’t you?
Only if I knew I could provide a good return to those that gave me money; presumably for investing purposes. As of now I'd have to answer NO to the question. Money I would be taking would be considered stolen. The Dem campaign could be considered using stolen money, in my opinion. I think the average campaign donor thinks of paying mainly for media airtime plus traveling around to different campaign events and setting up equipment, etc.