Fun facts: The actual swearing in ceremony cost an estimated $1.24 million.
$49 million raised in donations for the inauguration.$170 million spent on inauguration DAY.
$219 million spent (ironically - with people celebrating it!) on 1 day.
Sometimes people just need to elope. The wedding day means nothing if the marraige isn't going anywhere. I want to believe that this is ushering in the new era of change; and now, I'm struggling since his initiation was nothing short of a Bridezilla's dream.
Among the expenses of this budget? A Bruce Springsteen concert, the parade, large-screen TV rentals for all-free viewing on the national Mall, $700,000 to the Smithsonian Institution to stay open and, of course, the balls, including three that are being pitched as free or low cost for the public. Just what Joe-the-Plumber wanted needs when they have no money in the bank, a royal ball!
For those pissed about all the money from the recent government bailout ... the biggest group of donors were none other than the recently bailed-out Wall Street executives and employees. The finance sector was well represented in the list of donators, despite its recent troubles. Those who worked in finance still managed to pull together nearly $7 million for the inauguration. Despite all the donations, Obama’s team has made donations much more restrictive than in the past, capping donations at $50,000 per person, compared to $250,000 cap President Bush had at his last inauguration.
That said, we all need to stop dividing everything into Democrats and Republicans and who's to blame. It is everyone's responsibility to get it together. Everyone f*cked up and we are all suffering. Whatever your beliefs - there needs to be changes made to improve the economy - we can all agree on that.
It probably should have started with a little less pre-celebratory extravaganzas, but looking forward -- let's hope he makes some real change.
On a lighter note, I found this funny:
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