NCSL: Junket or Conference?
Was NCSL trip for 32 Legislators a Conference or a Junket?
Well, The 2007 NCSL Conference has finally come to an end. The 9,700 attendees have finally recovered from 4 days of being wined and dined, and have likely returned to their home states.
If you remember, a few weeks ago, I suggested (to the Press Herald’s Paul Carrier) that our 32 legislators signed up for this taxpayer funded trip should rather stay in Maine and figure out how to lower our tax burden – instead of going on this junket.
Within 24 hours, the Kennebec Journal editors took to the opinion pages to chastise me for labeling this educational experience for our legislators as ‘a junket’. In fact, their editorial’s title defined the NCSL event as follows: “It’s a Conference, Not a Junket