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A Gate for the Bush Estate, to be Paid by You and Me

Date:January 7, 2009 | Author:Diane Tuman | Category:Celebrity Real Estate

Yup — we the taxpayers will be paying for a gate that will keep the riff-raff at a distance from the new home of President George W. Bush and his wife, Laura, at 10141 Daria Place, Dallas in the Preston Hollow neighborhood, according to DallasDirt. The Dallas News reports that the taxpayer-paid gate is a result of a little-noticed bill W’s father, former President George H.W. Bush, helped push through:

In May 1993, shortly after Bush left the White House for Houston, the Legislature passed a little-noticed bill that allows cities to restrict access to streets “on which the dwelling of a former president of the United States is located.” The Houston City Council later voted to allow gates at two streets leading to the Bushes’ residence.

Candy Evans, author of DallasDirt, said it now makes sense why the Bushes limited their house-hunting to cul de sacs — it’s easier to block off a few neighbors than an entire street.

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Responses (9)

0 tweets 0 likes 9 comments

Tony Sena 3:18 PM - Jan 7,2009

I am so happy that I can be a contributer to increasing the value of George Bush’s new residence or should I say compound!
DebtFree 12:15 PM - Jan 8,2009

That US taxpayers provide for the security of ex-presidents doesn’t seem like news to me. Been doing this for decades, to include a 24-hour Secret Service details.
urban trekker 8:02 AM - Jan 9,2009

524k people lost job in Dec courtesy of W..and yet we’re still paying for the gate? Gimme a break,..
James v 9:45 AM - Jan 23,2009

Why not give G.W.Bush the option of government housing with 24-hour secret service in say, a public housing sector of Washington D.C., or let them have the option of living where ever they please without 24-hour secret service. Bush gave the American people so many wonderful options in the past eight years… we should return the favor. My apologies if I sound bitter.
Mike 6:35 AM - Apr 11,2010

I am glad I work so hard to pay off things like this. Imagine what we are now going to be paying for with this healthcare bill? I can’t even think about this without getting red in the face.
Jerremy 7:51 AM - Jul 1,2010

Wait a minute, I think that Bush’s family has to pay American citizens for tolerating them for 12 years.
Paul 7:44 AM - Dec 23,2010

Partisan commentary from Zillow? Get over yourself.
Tom 10:12 AM - Dec 23,2010

What kind of idiot questions providing security to a former President OF The United States?
Mason 10:45 AM - Dec 23,2010

George W. Bush was one of the greatest governors of Texas, and a great president. Look at Obama and how much the media tears him up. Paying for a cheap ass gate is nothing for the taxpayers. If the gate cost 300 MILLION dollars, each American would pay around 1-2 pennies for the gate. It’s unreasonable to even argue the opposition of this gate.