Who picks up the tab? You

Who picks up the tab? You

Lakeland, Fla., Ledger: As voters watched the expensive sets and glitz of the national political parties’ conventions, they may have wondered who’s paying for all this. The answer: They are.

Taxpayers are footing a large share of the bill for the conventions, and they shouldn’t have to. To begin with, each convention got more than $16 million in federal money to help pay for convention operations. And Congress appropriated $50 million in Homeland Security funds to pay for security at each convention.

The conventions are no longer a decision-making part of the election process. Nominees have long been set. The Democratic and Republican national conventions are scripted campaign commercials on free network television time.

While the federal government is operating in the red, the campaigns are awash in revenue. Both presidential campaigns are raising tens of millions of dollars each month. They and their parties should pay for their conventions.