White House Dossier – by Keith Koffler
In a move that is rich in irony, President Obama agreed Tuesday night to sign an emergency deficit reduction bill that does almost nothing to rein in spending and then jetted out to Hawaii to resume his vacation at an extra cost of more than $3 million to taxpayers.
The price tag is in addition to more than $4 million that is already being spent on the Obamas’ Hawaii idyll, bringing the total cost of the excursion to well over $7 million.
The added cost was incurred because by the time the Obamas return from Hawaii – whenever that is – the president will have used Air Force One to travel to Honolulu and back twice.
Obama was forced to return from Hawaii just after Christmas to complete negotiations to avoid the Fiscal Cliff, talks resulting in the bill that was passed by Congress last night. Obama resisted significant spending cuts throughout the negotiations, and the final legislation relies almost solely a new taxes to reduce the deficit.
Air Force One is known to cost about $180,000 an hour to fly. Based on an estimated 18 hours roundtrip flying time for the jet between Washington and Honolulu, the travel cost alone of Obama’s decision to return to Hawaii amounts to around $3.24 million. And that doesn’t include the price tag for the massive security operation required to move the president or the cost of the cargo plane that follows Air Force One around.
The Obamas could have saved taxpayers millions by returning from Hawaii together after Christmas and then resuming their vacation at one of the many ritzy resorts that lie outside of Washington. If the beach is a must, even a trip to Florida would have been far less expensive.
Or they could have simply stayed at the White House or Camp David, each a luxurious government-run installation, billing taxpayers a relative pittance.
Obama will get a full day of vacation in today, landing in Hawaii early in the morning.
Thank you for reading White House Dossier! Today I’m reminding everyone that you may also subscribe. Just enter your email address here. You’ll receive the free OBAMAGRAM newsletter and updates on breaking White House news. No spam, and we won’t share your email address.
http://www.whitehousedossier.com/2013/01/02/obama-returns-hawaii-added-cost-3-million/
…let me tell you…I’ve been aboard Air Force One and it is quite a nice ride… nice and plush….I bet just the fact that he gets to order the travel is a thrill to Obama’s ego….most powerful man in the world…! Whats a few more million when they plan on collapsing the currency and forcing some new “world currency” upon us..? We Conspiracy Theorists” have been trying to tell you for decades..eh?
Regards,
RJ O’Guillory
Author-
Webster Groves-The Life of an Insane Family
“Don’t do as I do; do as I say.”
With all this obama talk about how everybody has got to sacrifice I am wondering just what he and his family is having to sacrifice. I guess that that 7 million for his vacation isn`t included……………. Once again it seem like the harder that you work/try the less you will have to show for your work. Just look at our govt. – they do not seem to work for us at all.