Rumor is that the party of the year was today. We have all heard that the price tag on this little soirée will top $150 million dollars when the receipts come in.
Now myself, I wasn’t invited so maybe you are thinking I have a chip on my shoulder. No, I assure you. That is not the case.
I have heard all the comments about where the money is coming from to fashion reports on what the first family is wearing and I think it is all so jarringly surreal in light of America’s economic status today. It is irrelevant that this number is or isn’t higher than his first party, or any of Clinton or Bush’s parties for that matter.
I think the point that many are trying to make here is that this isn’t a discussion of party politics, this is 2013, not 2005 or 2009, and AMERICA CAN NOT AFFORD to throw a party of this magnitude this year.
Like many Americans and others around the world, I am having trouble understanding how Washington can celebrate when the statistics show that America is still hurting. I cannot begin to comprehend a leader and his entourage who can, without the slightest bit of guilt, plan and party with this decadence when millions more Americans can’t find jobs to feed their families, when the price of gas has nearly doubled during his term, and almost every citizen has felt the pains of trimming their own budget since four years ago.
What so many Americans, including myself, would have respected, admired and applauded would have been a leader who said “No, we can’t afford this, we will have to do something smaller.” It doesn’t matter that the party itself is paid for by contributions; the reality is that the bulk of the expenses come from America’s taxpayers and our seriously over-spent budget.
Wouldn’t it have been nice to have heard the sweet words, “No, that doesn’t fit our budget’s priorities”? Interestingly, in times of hardship a few of America’s Presidents have said “No, we must do less.”, and although forgotten by many, they made the right decision for our country.
Well, party on Washington. The hang-over may last longer than you think.