Cliven Bundy, the Nevada rancher who got more than his fair share of media attention over the armed standoff with the U.S. Bureau of Land Management owes a lot of money. It was already known that he owed in the millions of dollars, but the hard number wasn’t certain, at first.
According to Environment & Energy Publishing, Bundy’s $1.2 million in late grazing fees is more than what’s owed by the other 16,000 ranchers whose cattle grazes on BLM property. The majority of those ranchers pay what they owe, and only 458 ranchers have accumulated late grazing fees that equal $237,000. Less than one percent of the ranchers are two months past due on their grazing fees.
“We have good relationships with our permittees,” said BLM spokesman Craig Leff. “By far, the vast majority pay their bills on time.”
There is no mass outcry against government land management among these 16,000 ranchers. In fact, it was never even a thing. Bundy was the only one making such a huge fuss. There is one strong realization that can be ascertained from the amount of ranchers that owe late grazing fees and the amount of money that Cliven Bundy owes. What it all boils down to is that Bundy is just a crotchety old man who is too cheap to pay his bills.
Tea Partiers were so quick to jump on the Cliven Bundy bandwagon because either they thought they were on the cusp of a revolution, or they just wanted to justify wasting thousands on unnecessary assault rifle collections. But the fact of the matter is that Bundy is no hero or freedom fighter. He just didn’t feel like paying his bills because he felt entitled to get something for free.
Isn’t it odd that the political faction that is most critical of people suckling off of the government is the same group that’s so ready to do that very same thing?
Josh is a writer and researcher with Ring of Fire. Follow him on Twitter @dnJdeli.
