Is a dollar too much to ask for a priceless visit?

The Washington Times ^ | 4-7-06 | drienne Washington

[JZelle]

Paris, Louvre: EUR 8.5. Paris, Ascension de la Tour Eiffel: EUR 4.2 1er etage; EUR 11, Sommet. London, Madame Tussauds: £23.99 [$42 adults]; £19.99 [$35.45 children]. London, Buckingham Palace: £14 [$24.83 adults]; £12.50 pounds [$22.17 students]. Venice, Musei Civici Veneziani (The Museums of St. Mark's Square): EUR 11. Rome, Musei Vaticani: EUR 12. Florence, Firenze Mvsei, Galleria dell'Accademia (Omaggio al David): EUR 8. New York: Statue of Liberty ferry, $17. New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, $15. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution, $0. Washington, D.C.: Washington Monument, $0. Value of viewing all of the above: Priceless.

[JZelle]

BS! A dollar today, five tomorrow. It always starts small. We're already paying for it!

[Petronski]

For easier reading:

Paris, Louvre: EUR 8.5.
Paris, Ascension de la Tour Eiffel: EUR 4.2 1er etage; EUR 11, Sommet.
London, Madame Tussauds: £23.99 [$42 adults]; £19.99 [$35.45 children].
London, Buckingham Palace: £14 [$24.83 adults]; £12.50 pounds [$22.17 students].
Venice, Musei Civici Veneziani (The Museums of St. Mark's Square): EUR 11.
Rome, Musei Vaticani: EUR 12.
Florence, Firenze Mvsei, Galleria dell'Accademia (Omaggio al David): EUR 8.
New York: Statue of Liberty ferry, $17.
New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, $15.
Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution, $0.
Washington, D.C.: Washington Monument, $0.
Value of viewing all of the above: Priceless.

[Gay State Conservative]

With the taxes I've paid over the years,I think free admission to the Smithsonian is the least I can expect.

[Atlas Sneezed]

Conservatives should support user fees. Including for the little rug rats that show up in yellow buses.

$10 for a day pass is CHEAP, $25 for a week pass.

Why should taxpayers across the nation elsewhere subsidize the vacations of those who visit DC, especially those who live nearby?

The Smithsonian can sustain itself just fine on user fees.

Oh, and it would be more pleasant and less crowded.

I notice no one objects to the ticket price for the IMAX at the Air and Space Museum.

Treat it like a National Park.

[JillValentine]

Problems:

A. The article is written in an incredibly arrogant and condescending tone, with exaggerations and ad hominem arguments.

B. User fees by themselves are a good idea. However, the article advocates using user fees and taxes at the same time. Why should we have to pay twice?

C. The article is written in an incredibly arrogant and condescending tone, with exaggerations and ad hominem arguments.

D. The article is written in an incredibly arrogant and condescending tone, with exaggerations and ad hominem arguments.

[cpdiii]

The United States Government has over 50,000 of my dollars this year and I still have to pay 1700 more to them. Hell yes a dollar is to much to give them. The government is not underfunded, it spends to damn much of our money.

[Paul C. Jesup]

BS! A dollar today, five tomorrow. It always starts small. We're already paying for it!

And soon it will be only the rich who can view art, just as the treasiouns press elite want.

[RexBeach]

I was dead against the fee once I heard that Cong. Jim Moran(my congressman, D-VA) thought it was a good idea. Jimbo is always looking for ways to squeeze another dime or two out of hard working Americans. What a prince. What a putz.

[PAR35]

How much would it cost to collect a dollar from each patron. You would need to build the ticket sales and ticket taking booths and buy the machinery at each facility. You would need to hire staff to sell and take the tickets. You would need to hire staff to audit the ticket sales money.

It wouldn't surprise me if the government would lose money on each ticket sold.

[Joe 6-pack]

"The government is not underfunded, it spends to(o) damn much of our money."

Agreed. Perhaps they could trim the budget just a wee bit if they'd limit their activities to those permitted by the Constitution.

[Atlas Sneezed]

Just like only the rich can afford to visit Disneyland, go to movies, and go camping at national parks.

(Granted, we all know how wonderful it is to have free museums, goven that the pointillist exhibit at the National Gallery is well-attended by welfare Moms and their kiddies, hoping to enrich their minds and advance themselves, right?)

[Atlas Sneezed]

The United States Government has over 50,000 of my dollars this year and I still have to pay 1700 more to them. Hell yes a dollar is to much to give them.

---

People who pay more than their share of taxes should support a trend toward user fees.

The real solution is to "privatize" the museums. let a non-profit foundation run them without taxpayer subsidy, other than rent-free use of the land, and use of the buildings.

[Paul C. Jesup]

Cut the taxpayer funding and I will support admission prices at around $5.00 per person.

[Atlas Sneezed]

How much would it cost to collect a dollar from each patron. You would need to build the ticket sales and ticket taking booths and buy the machinery at each facility. You would need to hire staff to sell and take the tickets. You would need to hire staff to audit the ticket sales money.

---

No, you hire a private company, based on bids for the work. Ever hear of Ticketmaster?

[dfwgator]

We've already paid for it, with our taxes.

[Miss Marple]

Two of my granadchildren are in D.C. right now. If they had to pay admission prices at every exhibit, they wouldn't be able to see everything they want.

Now, I would be all for charging foreign tourists admission. Heck, 5 bucks for the Smithsonian is a bragain compaired to $42 to get into Madama Tussaud's!

[Shimmer128]

Yeah, but what about the exaggerations and ad hominem arguments? Don't forget those! :D

[JZelle]

I wonder if illegals would get a discount?

[Syberyenta]

Illegals would get in the back door free.
Same same

[Atlas Sneezed]

If they had to pay admission prices at every exhibit, they wouldn't be able to see everything they want.

---

If it were run like a private company, there would be sensible ways for people to affordablky visit. Day pass? Week pass? Half-price Tuesdays? Let's not be stifled by government management limitations.