The Donald Trump inauguration on January 20 will come with a “yuge” bill for United States taxpayers, says a new report from the Washington Post.
In order to have official parties and dinners, a concert, a parade, personnel and the swearing-in ceremony, the inauguration will come with a price-tag of approximately $200 million. Reportedly, about $70 million will come from private donations, while the taxpayers will pay for the rest.
The final total of how much taxpayers are paying for the party is unclear because the price-tag estimate does not include the salaries of civil servants who have the day off, local police officers and emergency personnel.
Here is an excerpt from the report:
“This process happens every four years, and every time, critics cry about the extravagance and excess. The truth is that both parties, Republicans and Democrats, spend about the same amount for the quadrennial celebration when adjusted for inflation.
“The cost breaks down into two parts: The bills that the Presidential Inaugural Committee pays, and the bills that the federal government, a.k.a. taxpayers, cover.
“The committee pays for everything surrounding the swearing-in ceremony — all the glamorous parts of the inauguration. Events this time include a candlelight dinner with the president- and vice president-elect, a lunch with Cabinet appointees, a concert and the inaugural balls. Inaugural packages start at $25,000 and go up to $1 million, which gives VIP donors the most tickets and the best seats.”
Of course, the newspaper just had to use Keynesian logic, defending the inauguration every four years by saying that it stimulates the local economy. Bah!
Here is another passage from the article:
“Regardless of who is sworn in as president, inaugurations are a huge boost for the local economy. Between hotels, restaurants, caterers, limo companies and more, the celebration is expected to bring several hundred million dollars to the Washington region, although exact revenue numbers aren’t available, according to Destination DC, the city’s official convention and tourism arm.”
These kinds of events only achieve one thing: make politicians seem more powerful than you. As you work the concrete jungle on Jan. 20, there will be politicians, VIPs and celebrities – well, possibly D-list anyway – who will party with the newly crowned president. This is something that happened in Versailles when the royalty and officials isolated themselves from the rest of France and entrenched themselves in luxury, opulence and vanity while the rest of the country languished.
Trump has yet to comment on the cost, which is odd because he complained about the cost of Air Force One. What he should do is have a small ceremony, perform the Bible shtick and move on; this would perhaps make his predecessor look bad and gain some respect.
Anything more is just excess and insulting to the rest of the country.
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