Funds for Former Presidents

My heart bleeds for all four seeing as how they are forced to live on a mere presidential pension of $99,500 annually, plus federal financing of office space, furnishings, travel, mail and first-class medical care. Not to mention private income from speeches, books, articles, business and investments, etc. Doesn’t the $3-trillion budget deficit tax-burdened public care that we are supporting another “royal� family every four to eight years?

I hear Ron and Nancy have traveled to Japan for 11 days to entrance the Japanese television public with Teflon “cowboy� big business commercials for $2 million-plus.

What irks me even more is that there were only four senators on the Senate floor when a voice vote was taken, without debate, on the $18.4 billion measure which included the bonus for the ex-presidents. Where were the other 96 senators and what are we paying them for? If they were employed in the private sector they’d get kicked out on their ear pronto. Why don’t we do the same?

MAXINE WOLF

Venice