An ex-President's Golden Parachute

[PetrusMonsFormicarum]

Upon exiting the White House, BushCo. and Cheney are both going to need Secret Service details. Years of Secret Service protection. The rage that has suddenly welled up at recent Republican events is a metavirus which infects by perception. The utter failure of this administration is suddenly, spectacularly on display for all the world to see. No presidency has ever created so many enemies both powerful and small. The list of grievances against Bush and Cheney is long and passionate. I seriously doubt that either man will be able to appear in public without bodyguards, even in Crawford, TX or whichever tacky hole ex-VP Cheney crawls into, for years.

And I'm not happy that I have to pay for it. That You have to pay for it.

Sure, a president is entitled for his years of service. A modest pension of $200,000. Annual staff allowance of $96,000. An annual office allowance of $300,000 to $800,000. If either of them live another ten years, the General Services Administration will pay out to them somewhere in the neighborhood of $14 million. The GSA pays using our tax dollars.

And then there's the Secret Service protection.

Let's do some extremely loose figuring (actual numbers are kept secret as part of their security protocol). Let's say the average SS agent makes $78k per year (actual salaries listed on USAJobs range higher, up to $115k). Both Bush and Cheney will merit 6 or so agents (probably grossly underestimated when one considers round-the-clock protection). The current Former President's Act allows ten years of Secret Service (not enough for these guys). Time to bust out some math:

78,000 (agent salary)
x 6= $468,000

468,000
x 2= $936,000 (BushCo. and Cheney)

936,000
x 10 yrs.
x 2 idiots= $18,720,000

Eighteen million bucks, just to keep some angry taxpayer, some grieving soldier's mother, a paroled Abramoff, from punching either or one of these dingleberries in the face or bruising their tailbones with a swift kick.