'Frugal' Ron Paul Spends Big on First-Class Travel Congressman racks up $52K in flight bills for taxpayers By Mary Papenfuss, Newser User Posted Jan 16, 2012 4:00 AM CST 73 comments Comments Flying high. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak) (Newser) – For someone so big on small government, "deficit hawk" Ron Paul has racked up a hefty first-class flight bill for taxpayers to foot. The Texas congressman charged taxpayers $52,000 for first-class flights to his home state—that's about $27,000 more than economy seats on the Washington, DC, to Houston flights would have cost, reports AP. His congressional staff says economy tickets aren't refundable—or as flexible as first-class for scheduling. Or as comfortable... (Read more Ron Paul stories.) My Take on This Story Report a story error Show results without voting | 72% Annoying 18% Hilarious 3% Intriguing 1% Depressing 5% Brilliant 1% Scary