Why Do President Obama's Trips Cost So Much?
The Huge Price Tag of a Secret Service Escort Is Paid by Taxpayers
Sep 19, 2009
The criticism levied against recent excursions by President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama has been largely focused on the seemingly exorbitant costs incurred by ordinary citizens, whose tax dollars financed the first couple's recreational jaunts.
Detractors of these trips have argued that the President has no right to squander the nation's depleted financial reserves on such selfish indulgences. However, the security procedures mandated for presidential travel are not created or approved by the President. He can suggest modest alterations, but final approval and execution of protection protocol is the sole responsibility of the United States Secret Service.
The President and First Lady's New York City Date
The loudest objections were raised after the first couple's May 30th, 2009 date in New York City. The trip was scheduled amid horrid economic conditions and occurred only days before the announcement that General Motors was filing for bankruptcy protection after accepting billions of dollars in government assistance in an attempt to avoid that exact fate.
The images of the President and First Lady cruising around Manhattan, dining in fine establishments and attending a Broadway play served only to exacerbate the rancor that had been building in the hearts of their countrymen, as their savings accounts dwindled and the value of their homes plummeted.
The trip supposedly cost several hundred thousand dollars. This price tag included the cost of transporting the first couple and their security detail on Air Force One, Secret Service expenses, overtime paid to the hundreds of New York City police officers required for traffic control, and a myriad of ancillary expenditures.
First Lady Michelle Obama and The Washington D.C. Farmer's Market
A more recent example of the ludicrousness involved when a member of the first family decides to venture off the White House grounds was given by First Lady Michelle Obama on September 17th when she decided to attend a local Washington D.C. farmer's market. The preparation required for the simple purchase of a few vegetables was staggering.
According to the September 18, 2009 Washington Post article 'Hi-Ho the Derry-O' the First Lady's visit was preceded by the arrival of three dozen Secret Service and D.C. police vehicles, the sweeping of the area by bomb-sniffing dogs, the erection of barricades to restrict pedestrian traffic, and the shutdown of two major thoroughfares and an entrance to the McPherson Square Metro station.
The purpose of the First Lady's outing was to promote the purchase of organic foods and the environmental advantages of crops grown without the aid of modern science (i.e. the decreased emission of greenhouse gases). However, this call for a smaller carbon footprint could have easily been lost on the crowd after they observed more than thirty vehicles descend on the market in advance of the First Lady's arrival.
The Huge Secret Service Escort for President Obama and Members of the First Family
These costs and precautions, while seemingly absurd to the average observer, are not subject to the discretion of the President and the First Lady. They are mandated by the protocols and procedures of several federal agencies. It is simply not possible for any member of the first family to travel on a budget. Whenever any one of them leaves the safety of the White House, an accompanying army of guardian angels will be at their side whether they like it or not.
Obviously, the costs of presidential travel could be mitigated if President Obama and his family never left the White House except on official business. However, no rational person would expect the President to remain sequestered in the Executive Mansion at all times during his tenure in the Oval Office.
Everyone, especially the President of the United States, needs an occasional stint of recreation. If those sojourns require a heavily armed and costly entourage, so be it. Otherwise, America could one day have a commander-in-chief driven half mad by cabin fever helming the ship of state.
It is altogether proper that an informed citizenry should question the expenditures of its government when those expenditures appear superfluous. However, in this case the criticism is based on factors over which the intended targets have no control. There are far more important and pervasive issues, involving much larger sums of money, that deserve harsher scrutiny.
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