Posted on 03/07/2013 7:27:54 AM PST by SeekAndFind
ABC reports tonight: “Republicans accuse the White House of playing politics. But the White House says it is canceling the tours because sequester spending cuts have sliced $84 million out of the Secret Service’s $1.6 billion budget. And they are the ones who secure the tours. They wouldn’t say how much this saves, so we did some math. Tours are open 20 hours a week and use 30 uniformed Secret Service officers at about $30 an hour. Total saved? Approximately $18,000 a week.” (Via The Weekly Standard.)
Assuming ABC’s per-week estimate is correct, if you’re looking over an entire fiscal year, cancelling the tours saves about $1 million — or two-thirds of a thousandth (.0625 percent) of the entire Secret Service’s annual budget, and leaves about 98.5 percent of the cuts to the agency’s budget to fall elsewhere. If those cuts have to occur within FY 2013, though, as the sequester appears to mandate, that’s actually only about $550,000, one-third of thousandth (or about .03 percent) of the Service’s budget, and leaving 99.35 percent of the budget cuts still to be made elsewhere.
As Katrina explained earlier this morning, House speaker John Boehner has made it clear that they’d found enough money in the Capitol’s budget to keep providing tours of America’s legislative chambers.
How dare he close MY house to the American people?
FUBO.
Exactly. This is the question that needs to be asked about all “cuts”. How much, if any, money did it really save?
Ah, frees up more money to put into the ice cream fund.
Saved none at all, ZERO. The agents are still getting paychecks.
Obama and his type hate the middle class - men the most - the kind of man who goes to a job everyday - has a few kids - goes to church - and a few times a year takes the wife and kids on a trip. Trips like to Washington to see the sites. Little does he know how unwelcome he is...
Puffed-up liberal elite sh*ts hate having everyday Americans walking through their palaces... The only 'people' they want in their palaces of self aggrandizement are butt kissers like those who need 'favors'. Beggars. Citizens reduced to begging... Elites love that... Or members of the press who butt kiss with relish... 'feed us - feed up" .. Once proud members of the press - New York Times newisies - 'feed me - feed me'... sick.
Elites sure as hell don't want wide eyes children and women who shop at Target walking through their delusions....
If you don't hate liberals yet, you're not paying attention.
Since Obama wants to play the (selective) nickle and diming game here, let's help him out. How about we stop commissioning $40K oil paintings of administration hacks? The $400K the Obama administration spent on portraits over a 2-year period would finance half a year of White House tours.
"Steve Ellis of Taxpayers for Common Sense argues that it's time for a change. "You really have to really wonder, is it worth the cost?" Ellis said. "It certainly strokes their ego but at a cost to taxpayers, and we can't afford just ego strokes when we've got a trillion-dollar deficit and $16 trillion in debt."
Ellis and other watchdogs haven't been able to stop government spending on portraits of cabinet secretaries and generals. As the Washington Times first reported, the latest portrait for outgoing EPA administrator Lisa Jackson cost $38,350. Air Force Secretary Michael Donnelly's portrait cost $41,200."
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