(Above: Photograph of the White House. Courtesy of United Liberty)
It is surprising to me that I am just now getting around to discussing the president's cost to the American taxpayer. We know he has raised taxes on two different occasions just this year: the first being in the Fiscal Cliff agreement where he essentially forced the GOP into a bad situation of either accepting his terms or enduring the dubious distinction of having to accept the responsibility for a government shutdown, while the second time coming as part of his 2014 budget, the first he has ever produced while president. Unfortunately, while the Republicans in Congress could have fought the president on this matter, they would no doubt have been viewed as the guilty party involved as it appears that nothing President Obama does, even when he breaks the law much like Bill Clinton, seems to affect him.
So, what are the various costs incurred by the president? Well, the one I wish to discuss is the startling difference between what it cost to sustain the First Family in 2011 and the British Royal Family that same year. We know that Britain's days of "the sun never setting" on its empire have long since faded into the sunset, yet the nation is still one of the most prosperous on Earth.
There are a couple of stories I will share with you that discuss the spending profligacy of the administration and his family. They are disgusting, and must be reined in. We continue to have our taxes increased dramatically while he lives like, well, a king, with absolute impunity (Courtesy of New American):
For all his talk about cutting the deficit, President Barack Obama has been anything but shy about spending taxpayers’ money lavishly — and not just on favored political constituencies. According to the Daily Caller, last year taxpayers had to fork over a whopping $1.4 billion just to pay the expenses of the president, his family, and his staff.British taxpayers, meanwhile, were soaked for a relatively trifling $57.8 million to keep the House of Windsor in tea and crumpets.While Obama is only the latest in a long line of chief executives to enjoy the high life at taxpayer expense, “the amount of money spent on the first family … has risen tremendously under the Obama administration and needs to be reined in,” Robert Keith Gray, author of Presidential Perks Gone Royal, told the Daily Caller.The $1.4 billion, Gray said, represents the “total cost of the presidency,” including the tab for the “biggest staff in history at the highest wages ever,” a 50-percent rise in the number of appointed “czars,” and an Air Force One “running with the frequency of a scheduled air line.”Gray knows whereof he speaks. He has served in various Republican administrations, most notably that of President Dwight Eisenhower, where he rose to the post of Secretary of the Cabinet. If he thinks presidential expenses are getting out of hand, he just might be onto something.The president’s salary accounts for $400,000 of that $1.4 billion. In addition, he has a $50,000 annual expense account, a $100,000 travel account, a $19,000 entertainment budget, and another $1 million for “unanticipated needs,” according to Gray. (How many taxpayers can get any amount of money, let alone $1 million, from their employers on demand?)Among the other perks of the Obama presidency:
- Appointed staff not requiring Senate confirmation, including 226 senior staffers (of 469 total) making over $100,000 a year and 43 “czars”
- Free vacations at Camp David, estimated to cost $295,000 per night when transportation and personnel costs are included
- A movie projectionist who lives and sleeps at the White House to be available at the president’s beck and call — a position that has not been eliminated despite the existence of cable TV, DVDs, and streaming Internet video
- Many paid travel and security expenses during vacations, such as the $75,000-a-day tab for First Lady Michelle Obama’s five-day trip to Spain in 2010 (in the span of one year she took 42 vacation days)
- A dog handler who reportedly earned $102,000 in 2011
The thing that bothers Gray the most, however, “is the use of taxpayer funds to abet [Obama’s] re-election,” he told the Daily Caller. Every time Obama hops aboard Air Force One to attend a campaign event, taxpayers take it on the chin. The president’s campaign pays the equivalent of a first-class commercial airline ticket for certain passengers; the remaining costs are borne by taxpayers. And those costs are considerable: ABC News reports that Air Force One runs up a bill of almost $180,000 per flight hour.“When the United States’ billion-dollar air armada is being used politically, is it fair to taxpayers that we only be reimbursed by the president’s campaign committee for the value of one first-class commercial ticket for each passenger who is deemed aboard ‘for political purposes?’ ” Gray asked in his book.“And is that bargain-price advantage fair to those opposing an incumbent president?”
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This article was published on September 28, 2012 during the height of the presidential campaign. However, as we have seen repeatedly over the decades, when a politician promises to deliver handouts to those who vote him or her into office, he or she usually gets elected. There is no such thing as a classless society because the Left will not allow for that happen, even if it means it becomes painfully obvious that our elected officials are spending extravagantly on items they should not while the common man continues to grow poorer beneath the weight of the government's excesses.
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The Obamas traveled overseas twice in the past month. The first trip was to Ireland. While in Belfast, Northern Ireland, the president proved to the world that he is an enemy to any and all Christians as he harshly criticized Catholic and Protestant schools, citing they are "divisive." Of course, if someone in the U.S. had said the same thing about an Islamic mosque being built in, say, the city of Murfreesboro just South of Nashville in Middle Tennessee, he or she would probably be arrested on federal charges of violating the Muslims at the mosque's right to free exercise of religion in accordance to the First Amendment. This goes back to my stating that America is in the early stages of experiencing the creation of a state based upon a form of Apartheid.
However, that is not all that is controversial about the Obama family's visit to Ireland. Britain's The Daily Mail reports on the cost and the rather-extraordinary and elaborate arrangements planned and made for not only the president, but his prima donna wife who will be discussed at even greater length when I get around to her rather-shallow comments about her living conditions at the White House, as well as his children Malia and Sasha.
The following is the article from the British news agency whose link is posted above:
Obama under fire as he turns the G8 Summit in Ireland into a family trip 'that costs U.S. taxpayers $5.2million for just two days abroad'
- Michelle, and two daughters, Malia, 14, and Sasha, 11 toured tourist attractions in Dublin on Monday
- First Lady in $3,300-a-night suite at lavish Shelbourne Hotel
- Michelle's entourage takes 30 rooms at the 5-star hotel
- President Obama remains in Northern Ireland at the G8 Summit
- Two-day trip is expected to cost the U.S. taxpayer an estimated $5.2million
- Arrived amid biggest security operation ever mounted in Northern Ireland
By LOUISE BOYLE and JILL REILLY|
President Obama may be earning the favor of his Irish ancestors by attending the G8 conference with his family but it is stirring the ire of American taxpayers outraged by the cost of the trip.
The two-day trip around the Republic is expected to cost U.S. taxpayers more than $5.2 million.
The President, his wife and daughters touched down in Belfast amid the biggest security operation ever mounted in Northern Ireland.
While Obama holds talks with other world leaders at the G8 summit in Northern Ireland, Michelle and their girls headed to the Republic.
Under watchful eyes: The police presence throughout Ireland, including in front of Dublin's Gaiety Theatre while the First Lady and her two daughters are inside (pictured), is at it's highest levels for the G8 summit
Glamor: Michelle Obama and her daughters are believed to be staying in a $3,300-a-night suite at the Shelbourne Hotel in Dublin's city center
Mrs Obama and her daughters are staying at the Shelbourne Hotel and according to the Irish Independent, her entourage has booked out 30 rooms in the five-star accommodation.
The Shelbourne Hotel is one of Dublin's oldest and sits in the center of the city overlooking the public park St Stephen's Green.
It is understood that Michelle will stay in the luxurious $3,300-a-night Princess Grace suite.
A team of staff were out cleaning the front of the building in preparation for the First family's arrival as the usual swarm of FBI agents hovered around.
Moving on: While Barack Obama holds talks with other world leaders at the G8 summit in Northern Ireland, Mrs Obama and their children are due to visit the Republic
Though the White House does not release the specifics on how much the trip actually cost, the $5.2 million estimate comes based on the reported cost of the first couple's one-day trip to Ireland in 2011 which tallied a $2.6 million bill.
This two-day trip is likely to cost double that amount taking into account that his daughters now need a security detail and the family have split up into two locations.
For this trip, Air Force One arrived at Aldergrove International Airport, 20 miles north of the city, where the President emerged from the plane with his family.
On Monday evening, the First Lady made a short speech before watching a special performance of Riverdance at the Gaiety Theatre, a short distance from her city center hotel.
Thrilled, girls? First Lady Michelle Obama and her daughters, Sasha (center) and Malia (right) tour the Old Library Building at Trinity College in Dublin on Monday
Don't get too excited! The Obama daughters study the 'College Harp' - Ireland's oldest harp dating back from the 15th century and on which Ireland's national emblem is based on
On arrival at the Waterfront, the family were greeted by Northern Ireland's First and Deputy First Ministers Peter Robinson and Martin McGuinness.
Roads into and out of Belfast were closed to facilitate the president's visit.
Hundreds of police 4x4s lined the streets, while the Police Service of Northern Ireland helicopter patrolled the skies over the city.
Thousands of extra police officers were deployed to the province ahead of the G8 summit.
Touch down: US President Barack Obama arrived in Belfast along with his two daughters and wife Michelle who looked stylish in a Burberry coat
Holding hands: Barack Obama disembarks from Air Force One with his daughter Sasha, 11
High profile: Roads into and out of Belfast were closed to facilitate the president's visit
Trips on Air Force One cost the government about $180,000 per flight hour.
According to a book published last year Obama and his family cost the taxpayer $1.4 billion per year.
This is far from the first presidential trip that prompted criticism among conservatives, as Mr Obama's recent appearances in Israel cost taxpayers an estimated $10.9 million.
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And then there's Africa. This makes you think of the legendary Allan Quartermain and the legendary Ernest Hemingway short story, The Snows of Kilimanjaro. But in the case of President Obama and his arrogant wife, it was "homecoming" of sorts according to the greetings being bestowed upon them by onlookers as well as a certain comment made by Michelle.
The following article from the conservative-libertarian online site United Liberty discusses how American taxpayers are footing more than $100 million in the trip's costs, an astounding total even by this president's standards. For Obama, the total means little because he knows that there will always be a source of money from which to withdraw funds, which means the only thing he has to do is continue raising taxes:
House Democrat unloads on White House over $100 million Africa trip
Fri, 06/21/2013 - 3:01pm | posted by Jason Pye
The White House is beginning to feel pressure over President Barack Obama’s planned $100 million trip to Africa — and it’s not just coming from Republicans.
The trip comes despite the Obama Administration’s frequent complaints about the sequester, which took effect in March. Rep. John Barrow, a Democrat from Georgia, criticized the White House for this extravagant spending in a short speech from the House floor on Thursday.
Though he was errant in his criticism of the sequester, which merely cuts the rate of spending growth over the next 10 years, Barrow noted that the cost of the trip is roughly the impact the spending cuts will have on Georgia’s economy.
“Very soon thousands of folks in my district in Georgia, and even more across the state, will be furloughed as a result of the budget sequester. Studies have shown that the sequester will cost the Georgia economy approximately $107 million,” said Barrow. “Meanwhile, reports circulated this week that President Obama’s upcoming trip to Africa will cost the taxpayers nearly $100 million.”
“Mr. Speaker, no one here questions the need for security for our Commander-in-Chief. But we do question the need for such expensive trips when so many folks across the country are being forced to cut back because Congress can’t get its act together,” continued Barrow. “A trip of this magnitude isn’t unusual, but these are hard times. One hundred million dollars could be better used to keep folks on the job.
“I urge the President, and everyone at the federal level, to lead by example, and not take the fact that Congress can’t get it’s act together and rub that in the faces of hard working Americans, he pointedly added.
Here’s video of Barrow’s speech:
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I will close by providing you with a quote that will follow Michelle Obama to the grave (Courtesy of The Blaze):
MICHELLE OBAMA: LIVING IN WHITE HOUSE IS SOMETIMES LIKE BEING IN A ‘REALLY NICE PRISON’
Because it can sometimes be a little confining, living in the White House is sometimes like living in a “really nice prison,” First Lady Michelle Obama said Tuesday, according to remarks sent to the press.Her “prison” comments were made during a discussion with former First Lady Laura Bush and NPR’s Cokie Roberts at the African First Ladies Summit in Tanzania.Roberts pointed out during the discussion that Martha Washington, wife of President George Washington, also likened the life of the First Lady to that of a state prisoner.“Martha Washington, our first First Lady, wrote in the first year that she was First Lady, she wrote to her niece that she felt like a ‘Chief State Prisoner,’” Roberts said.“But she was able to do good — she lobbied for all of those veterans that she had been to camp with through the Revolutionary War. And people don’t realize that first ladies have been doing that kind of thing from Martha Washington,” she added.First Lady Michelle Obama agreed that the role can sometimes be “confining,” but stressed that she loves the job.“I always joke that we have probably the best jobs in the world because, unlike our husbands who have to react and respond to crisis on a minute-by-minute basis — they come into office with a wonderful, profound agenda, and then they’re faced with the reality,” Michelle Obama said.“On the other hand, we get to work on what we’re passionate about. And I think that that’s something that I would encourage all first ladies to never lose sight of. You have an opportunity to speak to your passions and to really design and be very strategic about the issues you care most about. And I just found it just a very freeing and liberating opportunity,” she added.“No state prisoner?” Roberts joked.“No, there are prison elements to it,” Mrs. Obama responded. “But it’s a really nice prison, so –”“But with a chef,” former First Lady Laura Bush reminded the crowd.“You can’t complain,” Michelle Obama said. “But there is definitely elements that are confining.”
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