A week after last month’s government shutdown, 200-some federal workers flew at public expense to Orlando, Florida, home of Disney World. The ostensible purpose of the junket was a (week-long) “training workshop.”
The gang reportedly unwound at Sea World, and was treated to backstage tours of the Magic Kingdom. Said Corky Mayo, “chief of interpretation and education” for the National Park Service, “People expect government workers to work 24 hours a day.” (Actually, many taxpayers would settle for, oh, five hours.) Continued the Corkmeister, “I think at the end of the day it’s okay if we have dinner and get together.” Yes, employees the world over like to do that; but they don’t ask their fellow citizens to pay for it. And come to think of it, Disney World is a “national park” that is none the worse for being outside the control of the National Park Service.
