What Recession? The $170 Million Inauguration

robbie · Post by **robbie** » Mon Jan 26, 2009 2:50 pm

This money could have feed a lot of hungry children; to spend this much with the world the way it is to me is just ignorant. To wonder why there is no money for the important things well hers one of many many reasons, someone set me striate as to why.

patientx · Post by **patientx** » Mon Jan 26, 2009 3:13 pm

I wish I could set you straight, but I think you're right - it's a real waste of money. Not only that, think about all the money that wasted on idiotic TV commercials during the campaign.

notasperfectasyou · Post by **notasperfectasyou** » Mon Jan 26, 2009 3:35 pm

This is a tough one.

But, I don't think it's fair to just pick one item of cost as the scapegoat for mis-spent money. I remember during the campaign McCain tried to make an issue out of $3M for a movie projector Obama requested funding for in Illinos. We later found out it was for a planetarium that thousands visit every year. We could still make the judgement that it's still a waste, but there are two sides to every story. The count is about 1.5-2.0Million folks came out to see the inaugeration. I did not come to work that day, coincidentally, many of my coworkers where involved in the law enforcement work of the inaugeration. I was driving back from Vanderbilt from a realy good neurologist appointment. But, my point is, with that many people in town, there were not deaths, no major incidents, no terrorism attacks - that's not easy here in DC and I think the folks that made it happen deserve a lot of credit. I understand the point, but for me I need to see it for the importance it provided to the country. We still live in a country werein the peaceful transition of power can be celebrated in an open public gathering and all who desire to, can attend. Ken

Lyon · Post by **Lyon** » Mon Jan 26, 2009 5:28 pm

rainer · Post by **rainer** » Mon Jan 26, 2009 6:21 pm

This is a non-issue that people like bill o'reiley pretend to care about. That Obama will lift the ban on federal funding for embryonic stem cell research is much more important to me.

Terry · Post by **Terry** » Mon Jan 26, 2009 6:54 pm

He's back!

Hey Robbie, they even took down all the lamp posts along the parade route b/c it looked better.

We had the same discussion at work as we watched about wasted money

Sharon · Post by **Sharon** » Mon Jan 26, 2009 7:17 pm

Yea, Robbie - you are back!

chrishasms · Post by **chrishasms** » Mon Jan 26, 2009 8:40 pm

170 million or not, our new president has done more for this nation in one week than dipshit Bush did in the last 7 years.

I'll donate for another inauguration in 4 years if he keeps doing what he's doing. I'll give a extra 5 bucks for the party when he overturns the Stem Cell Bush farce.

Loobie · Post by **Loobie** » Tue Jan 27, 2009 5:35 am

All waste like that should stop. The war, the extravagancies. Just because we have an open spigot running in Iraq doesn't mean we should just ignore, or look the other way, at waste in other places. I agree with Robbie. It's like the Merril Lynch CEO giving himself the giant bonus when they were losing their ass. Waste is waste, it doesn't matter what type of emotions it incites. We all need to get out of our hearts and back into our heads for a good long while fiscally.

mrhodes40 · Post by **mrhodes40** » Tue Jan 27, 2009 9:31 am

It's like the Merril Lynch CEO giving himself the giant bonus when they were losing their ass.

NO, it's like merrill lynch taking money from TARP then setting aside 1/20th of the funds to have a huge big "mortgage fair" that people are invited to so they can hear seminars on how to apply for the new funds available.

It is totally different, one is self indulgent (what merrill lynch really did) one is not because it is for the beneift of other people.

Bush's inauguration cost

the inauguration's security was virtually never factored into the final tab, as reported by the press. For instance, here's The Washington Post from January 20, 2005, addressing the Bush bash:

The $40 million does not include the cost of a web of security, including everything from 7,000 troops to volunteer police officers from far away, to some of the most sophisticated detection and protection equipment.

For decades, that represented the norm in terms of calculating inauguration costs: Federal dollars spent on security were not part of the commonly referred-to cost. (The cost of Obama's inauguration, minus the security costs? Approximately $45 million.) What's happening this year: The cost of the Obama inauguration and the cost of the security are being combined by some in order to come up with the much larger tab. Then, that number is being compared with the cost of the Bush inauguration in 2005, minus the money spent on security.
In other words, it's the unsubstantiated Obama cost of $160 million (inauguration + security) compared with the Bush cost of 42 million (inauguration, excluding security). Those are two completely different calculations being compared side-by-side, by Fox & Friends, among others, to support the phony claim that Obama's inauguration is $100 million more expensive than Bush's.

from here
http://mediamatters.org/columns/200901170003

the apples to apples comparison is 43 million to 45 million 4 years later for Obama. Perfectly reasonable.

I have so had it with crappy investigative work on reporters parts!

robbie · Post by **robbie** » Tue Jan 27, 2009 10:24 am

http://newsgroups.derkeiler.com/Archive ... 01770.html

Artifishual · Post by **Artifishual** » Tue Jan 27, 2009 12:23 pm

I have so had it with discussion of this whole election!!

[/quote]
I have so had it with crappy investigative work on reporters parts!

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catfreak · Post by **catfreak** » Tue Jan 27, 2009 12:30 pm

What election? Did we have an election?

CF

Lyon · Post by **Lyon** » Tue Jan 27, 2009 12:46 pm

robbie · Post by **robbie** » Tue Jan 27, 2009 1:37 pm

I think Obama will make a great prime minister