My Governor apparently thinks she's Marie Antoinette: [View All]

[Are_grits_groceries]

Haley's fiscal priorities under fire as summer 'jobs' trip detailed

Gov. Nikki Haley's weeklong trip to Europe in June in search of "jobs, jobs, jobs" cost South Carolinians more than $127,000. But the governor and her entourage of more than two dozen returned without any finished deals to bring new employers to the Palmetto State.

Haley, who captured the governor's office preaching fiscal restraint, spent the cash so she, her husband and the rest of the state's contingent could stay in five-star hotels; sip cocktails at the Paris Ritz; dine on what an invitation touted as "delicious French cuisine" at a swanky rooftop restaurant; and rub elbows with the U.S. Ambassador to France at his official residence near the French presidential palace.

The South Carolina group also threw a soiree at the Hotel de Talleyrand, a historic Parisian townhouse where they feted foreign employers in hopes they'd set up shop in South Carolina. The Department of Commerce billed the $25,000 event as a "networking opportunity for members of the South Carolina delegation."

"It was a great party," Commerce Secretary Bobby Hitt said in an interview last week.
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http://www.postandcourier.com/news/2011/sep/05/european-vacation-or-legitimate-businesshaleys/

The 127K is only part of the cost, and the FOIA obtained documents are heavily redacted. In addition, she is running around saying she closed 2 deals while somebody is apparently shuffling behind her mumbling they are not closed yet to give her some cover later.

We have 11% unemployment.

"It was a great party"