Obama Inauguration 2013: Wasteful $169 Million Cost Sparks Anger
The cost of the second Obama Inauguration is likely to exceed a cost of $100 million dollars according to The Weekly Standard. Coming at a time when financial austerity measures are necessary and Congress is arguing over the budget in order to avoid the Fiscal Cliff, President Obama is planning an extravagant, three-day inauguration ceremony that has ignited the Twittersphere with accusations of waste.
The theme for President Obama’s second term in office will be “Faith in America’s Future,” a line that pays tribute to Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address. The public inauguration date also marks 150 years since 1863, the year of Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation and the completion of the Capitol dome. Unfortunately, America’s future is now being threatened by financial and economical woes making a party seem extravagant.
As previously reported by The Inquisitr, this coming Presidential Inauguration is historic because the public inauguration ceremony will be held on January 21 due to the 20th falling on Sunday. As per the US Constitution, Obama will hold a small, private swearing-in ceremony on January 20, making the public swearing-in completely for show.
How big of a show you might ask? For President Bush’s second inauguration, “the federal government and the District of Columbia spent a combined $115.5 million, most of it for security, the swearing-in ceremony, cleanup and for a holiday for federal workers,” according to the New York Times. That’s pretty wasteful but Obama’s first inauguration in 2009 upped the ante, spending well over $125 million according to reports.
This new inauguration show will cost American taxpayers a little bit more due to festivities being extended to cover three days, but with most of the expenses being on Saturday and especially Monday. The Federal government itself plans to spend $49 million on the inaugural weekend. States nearby to Washington DC are requesting another $75 million to cover their public safety expenses.
Fortunately, the remainder of bill is not so bad since it’s helped by private donations. Still, the cost of the parties being thrown are estimated to cost a whopping $45 million by themselves. Add that all together and you got Obama wasting $169 million in a time when austerity should be shown with leading by example.
What do you think about the Federal government and the Obama administration spending $169 million on partying when the nation is in the middle of economic troubles and facing the threat of a double-dip recession?
