OT:I'm so upset about inauguration

iVillage Member
Registered: 05-19-2004
OT:I'm so upset about inauguration
5
Tue, 01-18-2005 - 10:28am

Can you believe how much money they are putting into decorations like balloons and confetti!!!??? I heard millions!!! I'm not implying whether I'm for or against the President(that's not the point) - but if it is true, I just feel this amount of money is ridiculous!! Who's paying for it? Us? Look at what's happened in Asia- those people have nothing!, not to mention our own jobless, hungry people in USA, and they can blow that kind of money on streamers?!!

Our debt here is nothing to be ashamed of compared to that waste of money. Look how many trillions of debt THEY got us in!

I needed to get that out- I hope I didn't offended anyone. Arggg! ~Nicki

iVillage Member
Registered: 06-04-2004
Tue, 01-18-2005 - 10:44am
I agree that the amount of money being spent on this is outrageous, $40 MILLION!!! I have also heard that it is all being funded by private parties so that made me feel a little bit better, but still I think given all that is going on in the world right now, this is a little excessive.
~leanne

~leanne

deciding to be happy doesn't mean that everything is perfect, but that you had decided to look beyond the imp

iVillage Member
Registered: 05-26-2003
Tue, 01-18-2005 - 10:53am

The amount of money being spent on this inauguration ($30-$40 mil, I hear) is atrocious, especially for a second term in office. Everyone says, "Well, no one complained when Clinton did it," and, "This is Bush's way to thank his supporters for getting him re-elected." Regardless of those two things, to spend that kind of money on a *party* when there are still many people without jobs in this country and considerable need abroad is irresponsible and arrogant, imho. Oh, and did we forget we're having a war?

Franklin Roosevelt was sworn in for another term during WWII, and I really think Bush Jr. could take a lesson from him. He had a simple ceremony, a luncheon for about 100 of his closest supporters, and a family dinner that night. He said that he couldn't justify the expense of a full inaugural celebration during wartime. Wow -- fiscal restraint in Washington. What a concept. (**rolling eyes**)

You're not alone on this one!

Elizabeth
Debt-free by the end of the month

 
iVillage Member
Registered: 05-26-2003
Tue, 01-18-2005 - 10:56am

FWIW, a large part of the expense of the inauguration is the security required for the event. That could wind up costing as much as the parties themselves, as this will have to be the most tightly secured public event in history. THOSE expenses will fall to the taxpayer, as do all Presidential security expenses. Bleah!

Elizabeth

 
iVillage Member
Registered: 06-18-2004
Tue, 01-18-2005 - 11:19am

I agree that amount of money on what is essentially a party is outrageous. I commented as soon as Bush was reelected that, because we are at war with troops dying everyday, the best thing for him to do would be to have a quiet swearing in in his office, and maybe have a nice lunch for his staff. He tried justifying it by saying that Iraq and Afghanistan veterans would be involved and he would be going to a ball for them, but it is still excessive.

Yes, Clinton has a huge inaguration for his second term, but we weren't at war at the time. It also, to me, doesn't matter who pays for it, whether tax payers or private parties, it is how we as a country will look to the rest of the world.

BTW, I heard on the news that The District of Columbia was spending about 12 million and asked the federal government to reimburse them for all or part of it and the federal government said no, that spending money for security was part of their responsiblity for being the seat of the United States government.

I still think it is tacky to have a lavish ingurartion with victims of a tsunami still trying to recover and a war going on.

Will we ever learn?

Kellie

iVillage Member
Registered: 02-25-2004
Tue, 01-18-2005 - 11:31am

As it is being funded by companies, I don't have a problem with it.

The way I see it is this...If someone in my extended family was getting married say a cousin, and an outside party came to my cousin and said that they were willing to cover the cost of that wedding - no matter how ridiculously expensive, out of their own pocket -I would not be upset, I'd say more power to my cousin. And I could not get mad at the donor for giving their money to the cousin and not someone else in the family say an uncle who was in need of it. I can't get mad at how someone else wants to donate their money and to which cause. Does that make any sense?

Anyway, yes personally I think 40 mil is a tad much, but as it's coming from wealthy supporters, it's not up to me how they spend their cash.

Below is an article I just read this morning about this exact topic if anyone is interested.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

(http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6822858/?GT1=6065)

$40 million presidential bash

Some grumble about inauguration costs in time of warThe Associated Press

Updated: 3:31 p.m. ET Jan. 13, 2005

WASHINGTON - It will take President Bush less than a minute to take the oath of office next Thursday, but before the inaugural events are over some $40 million may be spent on parades, parties and pyrotechnics.

And that doesn’t include the costs of the most intense security operation in inaugural history.

The amount spent on this year’s festivities will rival the $40 million raised to celebrate Bush’s first inauguration in 2001, and will exceed the $33 million spent by President Clinton in 1993 when Democrats returned to the White House for the first time in 12 years.

While the partying is being paid for privately, there have been some mutterings about the scale of the celebrations at a time of war and natural disaster.

Money for the celebratory activities is being raised by the Presidential Inaugural Committee, which as of the end of last week had received $18 million, much in six-figure donations from wealthy supporters and corporate sponsors.

Rewards for big donors
Among the dozens of $250,000 donors are Home Depot, Bank of America Corp., Bristol-Myers Squibb and Ford Motor Co. Kevin Sheridan, a spokesman for the committee, said the fund-raisers were confident they would reach their goals. Sales of inaugural memorabilia, another source of revenue, have been even better than in 2001, he said.

The big donors are rewarded with a variety of inaugural packages, including meetings with political VIPs, tickets to the swearing-in ceremony and parade, and hard-to-get entry into the official inaugural balls and dinners.

The events begin Tuesday with a salute to the troops and a youth concert. On Wednesday there will be a celebration on the Ellipse, including a fireworks show, and three candlelight dinners.

On Thursday afternoon, after Bush takes the oath of office at the Capitol, some 11,000 people will take part in a parade from the Capitol down Pennsylvania Avenue, to the White House. That night there will be nine official balls.

Bleacher seats for the parade cost $15, $60 and $125 apiece, while a ticket to a ball — with the exception of one ball for military personnel, which is free — runs $150.

The office of the first lady said Laura Bush will personally pay for her outfits to inaugural events, which include gowns designed by Oscar de la Renta, Carolina Herrera and Peggy Jennings.

Grumblings about scale, costs
“Precedent suggests that inaugural festivities should be muted — if not canceled — in wartime,” Rep. Anthony Weiner, D-N.Y. wrote Bush on Tuesday.

Eight congressional Democrats from the Washington area on Wednesday wrote another letter to the president complaining of what they said was the unfair financial burden being imposed on the District of Columbia.

D.C. Mayor Anthony Williams has estimated it will cost the district $17.3 million to help pay for security at the first post-Sept. 11 inauguration, which includes 6,000 law officers and 2,500 military personnel to guard the 250,000 people at the swearing-in and the half-million expected to line the parade route.

Williams, in a letter last month to Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge, said he can use $5.4 million from a fund for special events in the capital, but the other $11.9 million will have to come from the city’s federal homeland security budget.

The Homeland Security Department on Thursday confirmed that the $11.9 million in security and other costs are eligible to be repaid with the city’s Urban Area Strategic Initiative grant.

But the mayor’s spokeswoman, Sharon Gang, said the city is still trying to get the federal government to repay it for all inaugural costs, so it will not have to divert homeland security money that may be needed for other purposes.

Holiday for federal workers
The expenses, Williams said, include $5.3 million in overtime costs for police officers and $2.9 million to cover logistics costs, such as transportation, lodging, box lunches, water and granola bars.

The Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies, which is responsible for the swearing-in ceremony, has $1.25 million to handle various production costs, such as staffing and printing, as well as catering and flowers for the luncheon in the Capitol following the oath of office.

The Architect of the Capitol also has a budget of $2.8 million as part of a construction project to spruce up the West Front of the Capitol, where the ceremonies will take place.

Inauguration day, with its street closings and heightened security, will also be a holiday for federal workers in the Washington area. That, according to the Office of Personnel Management, costs taxpayers an estimated $66 million.

© 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.