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Subscribe to RSSAs Republicans continue to blast the White House for canceling tours due to the sequester’s budget impact, the United States Secret Service is offering further explanation about its decision to nix the visits for tourists beginning this weekend.
According to an official who broke down the numbers for NBC News, there are 37 Secret Service officers staffed for tours. They each get paid $50 per hour for eight-hour shifts. These officers work five days a week, adding up to a savings of $74,000 per week that the tours are off.
That comes to almost $2 million before the end of this fiscal year.
The Office of Management and Budget has calculated that the Secret Service may need to cut as much as $84 million from its budget due to the sequestration cuts. Last March, the service requested a budget of $1.6 billion for fiscal year 2013.
GOP lawmakers have painted the decision to call off tours due to the sequester as a publicity stunt.
As a press conference this morning, House Speaker John Boehner again called the White House’s move “silly” and invited visitors to Washington to tour the Capitol in lieu of the president’s famous home.
"Even though our budget's been cut, like everyone else's, thanks to proper planning, we're able to avoid furloughs amongst Capitol workers, and tours are going to remain available for all Americans," he said. "I think it's disappointing that the Obama administration didn't follow our lead and find savings in other parts of their budget."
NBC's Carrie Dann contributed to this report.
Leave a Comment:
Well, at least it's a start...
If the Weeper of the House feels so strongly about this, he should donate his $220K a year salary towards keeping the doors open!
About time these yahoo's put their $$$ where their mouth is...
I find it exceptionally funny, these obstructionist republicans refuse to fix the problem by a balanced approach and turn around and whine like baby cry for real when actual cuts are made. Go ahead my president, cut off the republicans free lunch. They suck as legislatures anyway.
Ah shucks Feisty - those yahoo's would rather spend their time hunting down another 'gate' story - White House Tour-Gate.
Priorities of the "conservative" Republicans are on full display.
Shocking that NBCNews and the democrat staffer are lying.
Tours are only offered 20 hours a week, not the 40 they used in their analysis.
Amazing how we still had tours 5 years ago when the budget was 30% less than it is now.... how did we ever manage.
And that is exactly the problem Feisty and Johntho. We gotta cut, cut, cut, and as soon as a cut is put into place, they start sniveling. Every one of these yahoos has a sacred cow, and the second it gets touch they scream.
The Republicans know that there is no place they can cut. When they bitch about cutting tours, but are ready to cut medical care and Social Security they show why they cannot be given control of the country.
Glad Obama made sure that the costs for SS were well spent on his multi-day inauguration. The public doesn't deserve tours, Obama does deserve multiple inaugurations over multiple days.
The Secret Service Budget was 1.5 Billion last year, they are requesting 1.6 Billion this year. Obviously the White House Tours cost more than 100 million if they can't offer them anymore even after a budget increase.
For a self-guided tour no less ... Really? ... Imagine what could be saved if Secret Service and transportation costs to get Obama and Michelle to and from the worlds finest golf courses and high profile entertainment awards events were stopped? Wow, there really is a lot of government waste, fraud and abuse, anywhere you choose to look.
Feisty, this would be a good time to admit that government is out of control, and Obama has an opportunity to look presidential, reasonable, and business-like. This would be a good time to step back and avoid making yourself look foolish and acting as a shill for the bad guy. But do as your backwards morals and views guide you as the good little sheep you are.
The increase in costs for Secret Service has occurred due to the President's need to travel and campaign. He has traveled more than other presidents at increasing costs.
But we shouldn't ask Obama to cut back on travel. He needs to be on The View every now and then. He should be able to travel more at higher costs than any president ever.
http://www.dhs.gov/news/2012/03/08/written-testimony-us-secret-service-director-sullivan-house-committee-appropriations
Now if only Jesse would be honest about employment laws. Regardless of the the hours of tours, staff are generally paid for a 40 hour work week.
David,
What ever happened to their battle cry of "shared sacrifice"?
Another thing to keep in mind about the cost of Secret Service protection, threats against our President have increased exponentially since his re-election.
did they fire them ? or still paying then cant see any savings
Sounds like $50 an hour to give tours is an awful lot. Again showing us that it is not an issue of not having enough money to pay our bills but what we are spendin our money on is absurd.
Think about this for a minute. That is OUR house, we support that house. As far as I know the people that live in OUR house don't have to pay anything to live there. As far as I know our tax dollars pay for the up keep, the staff, the ground keepers and yes the Secret Service. So tell me what does the family living there pay for except for personal items. What right does that family have to deny the American people a tour of OUR house other than being President. Look he is mad because his bluff got called and now he is going to let everyone know it. Nothing more than a spoiled child throwing a fit. Do not forget the sequester was signed into law by BO.
Fiesty,
I agree with you and since the President does not think the rich pay enough he should lead the way and raise his taxes to 35% of his income or at least follow the Buffet rule he is in favor of. Don't you agree people should put their money where their mouth is?
Well if they keep this up, in 2 years it will almost be enough to offset the amount of money it costs us to have Michelle Obama and her kids go to the Kids Choice Awards.
Thank about this for a minute - it is NOT your house, it is the President of the United States house, and right now, that man is Obama!! You simply have the privileged of paying for his residence.
Hahaha anyone who thinks that this is a start to solving our deficit problems is deluded. This is quite literally nothing in the overall scope of the budget deficit. This is a farce!
As someone that supports the sequester, I agree with cutting the tours.
While I'm sure many Republicans would like to end all Secret Service costs, thus ensuring that John Boehner would become President, it isn't going to happen.
The cut to the SS was required by the terms of the 2011 BCA or "the sequester" which required cuts in all discretionary departmental spending.
Having tours, or not, is a discretionary item. Since the Klan gave up its hoods in exchange for tri-cornered hats strung with tea bags, its become essential to have extra SS protection for this President. In order to have tours, there has to be extra SS persons. The cuts make sense, as much as anything done under the sequester does.
The employees involved in the tours are still employed, it's just that the cost of those employees has been shifted to other activities. Cutting the tours is a stunt and results in no actual savings to the tax payer.
To be clear, I think they should cut the tours, and then they should lay off all those employees.
"Now if only Jesse would be honest about employment laws. Regardless of the the hours of tours, staff are generally paid for a 40 hour work week."
Obviously your not a cost accountant.
say what?? The people exist because of the King and Queen...you act like this is a Democratic Republic...let them eat cake, Hussein the First I am
OK...
and next time your community HS is on a DC field trip...let the kids know how you feel.
Too bad. If you don't like it thank a Republican.
What a joke!
Obama could've skipped ONE trip and saved the White House tours.
The White House belongs to the American People.
.
Come to think of it. Let the republicans have their way. Let them cut everything they want cut. Cut it to the bone. First layoff the government workers. Cut government services to all. Nothing leave nothing only money for the military. Just think how quick the republicans would lose their seats in the house and the senate.
To the usual suspects brining up transportation for the President and first family for trips - again - fewer than Bush took during the same time. And, Bush was wracking up the cost of two wars he didn't have a plan to pay for - while he traveled all over!
Your insane hatred for our President is truly a sickness and it's killing each of you, slowly. Too bad no one will notice anything once you're gone except that the atmosphere will be much lighter!
To get here at this point due to childish bickering on both sides we should also cancel the jobs of people who raise and lower the American flags over Washington. We can let the homeless run up their dirty white t shirts as a symbol of what we have become............
Personally, I think this is a publicity stunt courtesy of the Obama administration. I am sure that he and others in his administration have instructed the various department head to make the cuts as painful and high profile as possible. It is to his political favor to do so and then say it is the Republicans fault. It also gives the Residents of the "Peoples" house the ability to push the rabble back away from their personal grandeur and have a by invitation only policy moving forward into the second term.
I wonder how many school groups who are traveling over spring break will be disappointed because they made their arrangements to tour the White House well in advance? All that effort and planning is now wasted.
What will he demand next....the closing of the Smithsonian or cordon off the National Mall to just anybody.
Come to think of it. Let the republicans have their way. Let them cut everything they want cut. Cut it to the bone. First layoff the government workers. Cut government services to all. Nothing leave nothing only money for the military.
Well we should cut the military budget too. The Republicans don't want to cut anything, they are faux fiscal conservatives. They usually just advocate slowing the rate of growth of government. We need real cuts now.
RI Mom
Simple, the federal government is a dysfunctional, corrupt and bankrupt organization; you wouldn't want to visit there anyway.
So TxMom, you think GOP/TP supported sequester cuts should apply to everyone but groups of school of kids. What part of across the board do you fail to understand? If you wanted a say so in choosing and picking, you should have picked up the phone and told your GOP/TP friends to bargain for a balanced approach budget back in 2011.
I find it hard to believe that they will save so much money by canceling the tours. The secret service members who protect the building are still going to be needed. There isn't 37 people going along with the tours. They will always need secret service members inside and outside the building at all times no matter if tours are going on or not. They need the guys on the roof. They need the guys at the gates. They need the guys inside the building. Those people aren't there just to protect the building when tours are going on. I smell a load of garbage from this excuse. If they want to save money by making cuts, there are a bunch of larger cuts they can make. This is just more of the make it hurt cuts the leaked emails from the Obama Administration suggested they make. I will believe Obama and all of Washington if all of them Republican and Democrats stop taking taxpayer funded trips all over the place for this pleasure thing or that. If Obama stops golfing, and Pelosi stops flying back and fort to California every other day, I will start to believe they are serious about cuts. All sides of the isle do this garbage no doubt. But if Obama would just cut 1 or two golf outings, he could save the taxpayers enough money to keep the tours funded for the year.
Everything Obama is doing is aimed to get control of both the House and Senate. All the finger pointing and blaming is aimed towards low information voters. We took it on the chin when taxes were raised but now that our politicians have some money taken away, it is made into a major crisis.
I don't make a ton of money but I have a budget, I'm not in debt, and all I want is some fiscal responsibilty from our politicians.
Funny Cartoon I saw the other day was Obama at the podium saying, "I won't allow half of the Americans who pay no taxes to bear the burden of the other half who aren't paying their fair share."
Criticism of this move is really unnecessary. Resisting cuts such as these is how we got into the trouble we have now, to many in government $2m is a pittance. However, to quoth the late great Republican Senator from Illinois, Everett Dirksen, 'a million here and a million there, pretty soon you're talking about real money'.
It also isn't just the $2m for the SS. it is the cost of wear and tear, energy costs, maintenance staff etc. I'm as disappointed as the next person, not for partisan reasons because it shouldn't be, but because a trip to DC with my grandchildren will have one less piece of history for them to learn from and in that way we as citizens are all losing.
OOPS. BCSnooze "forgot" to tell the public the rest of the story. The SS are only used for 20-1/2 hours per week for the tours. However, they still draw full pay and benefits for the 40 hour "work week". There fore there is no direct savings by cancelling the tours since the SS are NOT going to be furloughed. The SS are just going to be reassigned to other locations with the only possible cost savings to the taxpaying public is by reducing any overtime accrued by SS in the other locations.
Basically, closing the WH will not result in any savings but will impact SS officers (lower paycheck - no overtime) that have nothing to do with the tours.
Rethuglicans refuse to negotiate on the sequester, and then complain when it happens. Typical teabagger crap.
red @ 1.19 said: "Thank about this for a minute - it is NOT your house, it is the President of the United States house, and right now, that man is Obama!! You simply have the privileged of paying for his residence."
It would seem that the official white house page supports stockcar's statement, "our house" being the equivalent of "the people's house". my bold below for emphasis.
The White House isn’t simply a home to First Families or meeting space for world leaders, it’s also known as ‘The People’s House,’ a place that should be open to everyone.
@Jesse-Az: Multiday inaugruration? Wait, so it is Obama's fault it fell on a Sunday? cripes.
BillyBob - talk to that former guy concerning ending public access and implementing the current system of limited tours.
That is all subterfuge from this administration. What are they going to do? Lay off 37 secret service agents? This administration is so full of BS it is sickening.
Colorado - Colorado Man is so full of BS it is sickening! See, I fixed it for ya!
Mr. obama,
I have a favour to ask of you. Would you come to my office and explain to my boss that he will save money by sending me home to sit on my ass but still collect full pay and benefits? I know you have that insight since you closed the white house to tours and saved the taxpayers $74K per week. My paycheck is far from that level so it should be very easy to rationalize the savings of my measly check.
On second thought, would you just send him a note to that effect? After seeing the survival rate of people that have been around you I would rather just have you send a note. Your physical presence with a backdrop of my colleagues isn't necessary. Shutting down the plant for days while your security team "sweeps" the facility and the media sets up the cameras may upset productivity.
I read the number is slightly over $18K per week, but it also took Obama 18 cars to drive 1/2 mile to meet with Republicans over the sequester issues.
20 cars filled with SS and who knows what else. How many weeks would that fund for the tours that are mainly volutneer tours? The WH Protective Service costs approx. $30 hr with benefits. SS costs more per hour.
As a side-bar, Paul Krugman, the economic guru of spending our way out of the recession, just filed for Chapter 13. Hmmmm, can;t spend your way out of the problem as Paul, the superstar economist of the left says.
You mean like Romney did in MA?
Maybe we should save the money so Obama can take a few more Hawaiian golf outtings while everyone else is suffering. He is the quintessential public employee.
I'm a little late, but Feisty, you are wrong about death threats against Obama increasing since his second term began. It's in fact just about equal to Clinton and Bush II. You are probably referring to that old report of death threats being 4 times greater for Obama than other presidents, but this has already been shown to be false.
The ridiculous dinner with 6 Senators from the minority party cost more than $70k - Hello, order in!! That was a waste of time anyway as those senators have no control over Harry Reid or John Boehner.
Filbert -
You are responding to feisty as if she is not just a propaganda mouthpiece and could care at all about the truth about anything.
Well, I thought these were going to be a time of cuts; making sacrifices.
Didn't Obama say that? You know, when he was talking about the deficit.
.
I thought Mr. Obama was the Chief Executive.
Are you saying that Obama shouldn't be trying to save a few dollars too? The article states he essentially flew back from vacation in Hawaii to DC to sign a bill, and then he returned to Hawaii to continue his vacation.
Was this an emergency bill he signed?
Don't blame me; I'm talking about the man who said:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1kuTG19Cu_Q
.
.
Seeking Insanity - You proved the point I've made several times about you moronic libs. You have no honesty to add to the discussion and can't defend Feisty's ignorance either.
This is a cut to the Secret Service which serves not only the President, but congress too. SSis mandated to make cuts in their budget because of the sequester. They can cut security details for White House tours, who by the way don't give tours they provide security, or maybe they could pull some of their details off Congress to save a buck or two. I'm sure that would go over well.
I am sure Janet Napolitano will continue to kiss her boss's ass and make cuts within the Department of Hopeless Stupidity that are intended to give Americans the finger, such as releasing illegal aliens and preventing the taxpayers from visiting our White House, instead of cutting the waste and idiotic spending in her department.
Has she announced if she will cut the lavish parties and hooker budget?
My God, people. White House tours are hardly essential. Why would any republican have a problem with this? You are the ones forcing these cuts down the country's throat, own them for godssake. You look ridiculous when you bitch about these kinds of cuts. Jesse, you have been advocating spending cuts for years. Either be happy with them or stop them. But stop whining about them. This is what you wanted.
we all know tours were cut because it would make headlines. just as it is doing. i will applaud the first democrat or republican that finances the tours themselves without taxpayer money. i bet someone will do it.
Hey Feisty, consider THIS. The Secret Service is in the White House whether there are tours or NOT, so the math doesn't add up.
Also, cancelling just ONE golf trip by our Moron in Chief would pay for an ENTIRE YEAR of tours.
But all we get for left wing haters like you is FILTH and the usual lies, right?
For all those people that thought the Sequester was a good idea to allow to go into effect, well Folks, here it is for you! Now people are crying because their sacred cows are experiencing the financial cuts. No more White House tours. That's not much of a savings, they should leave it alone! The FAA is reducing numbers of employees in airports and control towers. Waaaaaaa! Those lines are inconveniencing me! The flood control program on the local river is experiencing reduced spending. WAAAAAAAAAAA, that endangers my property. Folks, this is the real face of the Sequester that you so badly wanted, now it's here. It's time to adjust to the new reality that you wanted to happen so badly!
savings of $74,000 per week - Hum do you think some people are being a bit over paid..... OOOO that's right it is ok after all it is just our Tax Money Paying them.....
If the words
"BALANCED APPROACH"
and
"COMMON SENSE"
were removed from the liberals' talking points...
I wonder what they would say?
This shows the different approach by Republicans vs Democrats to the spending cuts;
The Republicans want to make the cuts as painless and unobtrusive as possible to minimize the inconvenience to the public.
The Democrats want to maximize the pain and visibility of the cuts in a temper tantrum over having to cut ANYTHING, and then try to blame the Republicans.
Which is acting like an adult, and which is acting like a spoiled child?
Oh, we had tours! But who was interested in taking a tour when they didn't have a job or a house to live in and their retirement fund was tanking!
You demonstrate soooo well just where Republican priorities lie!
RedDevPS you are wrong our tax dollars keep that house and by electing the President he is allowed to live there and again it is our tax dollars that pay for that house. He makes what around $400,000 a year and does not have to pay a lick in rent or any other up keep and should have no right to stop the tours. Am I being anal, yes I am because of what he is doing to my country. Don't like it tough.
Your insane hatred for our President is truly a sickness and it's killing each of you, slowly. Too bad no one will notice anything once you're gone except that the atmosphere will be much lighter!
Honestly you're the worst offender on here (next to johntho) for 'insane hatred'. Also, the average conservative doesn't 'hate' the president, we just don't support him. There's a big difference there.
But then again, we have the blinders off, and you obviously don't.
Funny stuff- Symbolically cut the public's access to the "people's house" as a pointed distain for the President's own sequestration policy. Ooooh, $74,000 every week! That would be impressive if the federal government didn't spend about $1 per second of the day. I'd bet the President's dinner parties cost that much each week (staff costs, security costs, food, entertainment, clothes, cleaning, maintenance, etc.).
Lame.
Sure, by cutting programs like Head Start, food stamp programs, protecting the elite tax loopholes for necessities like corporate jets. I don't know how you can type with a straight face, you just said the opposite of what is really happening. A lot of Obama hate (really, a president not living in the White House?) and nonsense bs while pissing and moaning about cutting TOURS for crying out loud. I'd rather have my money funding PP or Head Start, not a goddamn tour. It is so hypocritical for republicans to spend 4 fricken years trying to cut, cut, cut government programs and spending, then go and whine about nonessential programs that get cut. Flip flop flip flop.
Yep, Obama cancels white hours tours to save something like 74K a week, but the Obama's lavish vacations and trips continues unabated.
If you don't want it cut, stop the bull@!$%# with the budget. I'd rather use that money for PP, Head Start or something that actually helps people. Republicans need to either embrace what they've wrought on the country or shut up. You fricken can't have it both ways. REPUBLICANS ARE FORCING THE CUTS.
Shouldn't trivialities like White House tours be at the very top of the budget cutting list anyway, sequestration or not?
The White House can keep the tours going if Obama gives up his million dollar golf weekends with Tiger Woods and oil company executives during sequestration.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/03/05/louie-gohmert-obama-golf_n_2814332.html?utm_hp_ref=politics
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/02/20/obama-climate-protest_n_2719338.html
Do you want the @!$%#ing cuts or not? Either embrace them or stuff it. You can't have it both ways.
Boeher's response to sequester cuts in Congress - send House members home for the year. Superb planning there, speaker.
How do you think obama funded his date at The Jefferson? Used the "savings" from cancelled tours to treat everybody to dinner.
Now if we could only get the senate to get off their asses and do something at all it will have been productive.
Tell it to Mitch McConnell. He is the one stopping the senate from progressing and allowing votes.
Republicans: cry about spending too much money, then cry about saving money. Cry about Obama not leading and not willing to cut spending, then cry when he does. If Republicans could get paid for crying, they'd all be billionaires. About time all you sorry losers stopped whining and went back to work. Us demorcats are tired of picking up the tab for all of you dead beats living off of government money. I think Obama's team should have started by cutting government funding to the red states. They don't like government interference in their lives anyways, so might as well take away that government money. Maybe they can get some corporations to sponsor their next state budget. Put some advertising on the state capitiol building. "The Bud Light Texas Capitol Building"
Red Devil...that is not what I said and you can't possibly believe that the GOP supported any specific sequester cuts. This Obama administration put sequester into play and it is this administrations choice to make specific cuts. Wonder where the first family will be spending spring break?
AS for a balanced approach to the budget...I suppose you don't keep up in current affairs. The DNC got their tax increases this year. Where are the cuts that were supposed to go along with the increase. They are in the Obama administrations sequester. He got his tax hike and his administration is designating what cuts will be made, courtesy of his sequester since the DNC chose an obstructionist approach to panel that was appointed in 2011.
And republicans got their cuts last year and the year before. And this sequester is not just a dem or Obama problem, it was also signed by republicans. Just because they have 'buyers remorse' doesn't give them a pass, especially since it was republicans who have manufactured this entire 'fiscal crisis'. That's right, they made it happen. And suddenly those cuts aren't looking so good when it hits THEIR constituents.
http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2013/03/sequestration-nimbyism-grips-gop.php
So much for being the "Peoples House"! WTF 74k a week, I'm sure the Pentagon can buy some cheaper toilet paper to cover that bill.
What does the Pentagon toilet paper budget have to do with the White House Secret Service budget? Nothing - the post is simply more right-wing nut job rhetoric.
the $74k a week can be raised by the private sector. That will get covered shortly and hopefully Obama accepts the $
truth conveyer The $74k a week can be raised by the private sector.
Who would want the private sector to have anything with the government? The government is for the people by the people not the private sector. Look we got the private sector involved in the war in Iraq with Blackwater Halibourten and others. How well did that work now?
Way to pinpoint those groups Smitty. Private Sector never gets anything done right. Public sector is the way to go, they always get things done efficiently and on schedule.
Smitty, think of it like the advertisements on the side of your bus.
Smitty,
Let me put it to you this way: If White House tours were run by the private sector they would run on time and on budget. If allowed, this problem will be solved in the blink of an eye by the private sector.
Does the number $16 trillion mean anything to you? LOL
The pentagon buy cheaper toilet paper? When is the las time you were at any DoD facility? They have two types of toilet paper - 80-grit Norton brand sandpaper of Cut-Rite brand waxed paper.
When you get home tonight go to your workshop or pantry and try out your own brand.
Truth: And the guards would be paid minimum wage while the CEO would get $1000.00 an hour.
The private sector can't figure out how to deliver cell phone service - much less manage White House Tours. Of course, if your private run tour was cancelled, I guess you could always call Pakistan and complain to a customer service rep, get transferred to a supervisor in India, get transferred to manager in the Singapore, only to be hung up on.
Hey, here is an idea - let's pay Haliburton 20 trillion a year to run the tours. With their track record, they would print signs "Tours Start Here", and pocket the remainder of the money.
Now if neither of those two options work, we could always sell the business to Bain, where they would pocket the pensions of the WH staff, sell of the WH to the highest bidder, and shut down the tours.
Well, I didn't know Bain was 16 trillion in the hole, and climbing. It's crazy how much people on here now hate, ABSOLUTELY HATE AND DESPISE, private enterprise.
We had tours last year with the same budget - why now? Why can't you people recognize a political stunt when you see one??
I guess we have to pay for the thousands of new important administrators and others:
https://www.usajobs.gov/JobSearch/Search/GetResults?Keyword=administrator&Location=Washington+DC%2C+District+of+Columbia&search.x=24&search.y=6&AutoCompleteSelected=true
Associate Administrator for Safety and Oversight
Salary: $119,554.00 - $172,500.00 / Per Year
Open Period: 3/5/2013 to 4/8/2013
Associate Administrator for Administration
Salary: $119,554.00 - $172,500.00 / Per Year
Open Period: 2/28/2013 to 4/1/2013
I would love to hear a debate on public sector v private sector. This amazes me that so many people think so poorly on the private sector. But i guess it shouldn't surprise me since I'm on MSNBC's site. Government gunna sulv mi problems.
Hey, LiberalsAreTheWorst.... the private sector have proven over and over again that their only concern is profit. They don't care about customers. They don't' care about employees. It's all about squeezing every penny to put more in their pockets. I've worked for the government and have seen private contractors hike their rates up hugely on government contracts to take advantage of the so-called government "deep pockets" ... in other words screwing the taxpayers for profit. The government may be disorganized and unwieldy but they at least pretend to give a d@#$ about people.
MuountainLady,
It is precisely because the private sector cares about their customers and employees that they make money and are successful. Heck, it would be great if we could privateize the DMV too! You are blind to the reality of how the world works.
Blearyeyed, you may be right in terms of CEO vs guard pay. That being said, it would still come in on budget and on time and the user experience would be fabulous. That is what the CEO gets paid to do and as a consumer I could care less what he makes as long as I am expereinceing value for what I pay. You are clearly one of those jealous of financially successful people.
My advice to the guards in this example. If they have a problem with what they are being paid to do their job or with what the CEO is paid then
1). They should quit there job....or...
2). Become a CEO
Problem solved!!
Oh, total bull. They don't give a @!$%# about their customers or employees. They care about THEMSELVES and their profits and bonuses. Maybe a few decades ago you might have had something, but that is NOT the case today. Usually what happens is the outsource to a private company, which cost US taxpayers even more than using government workers, and they do crap work (think Haliburton and their 'work' in Iraq that caused some soldiers to be electrocuted in showers because of their @!$%#ty work). Private enterprise cost more and we get less.
NJSTEVE....
It's called the sequester.....try and keep up.
lib50,
You make no sense. Sorry.
Sleuth23,
They need to cut even more. This should just be a start.
That being said, is there any doubt that Obama cut the tours in a petty gesture that is typical of a narcissest.
As I said, if he lets the private sector handle this this will be solved. Or, maybe Obama can just sell a couple meetings to lobbyists at his $500K per meeting price and that can pay for the next year of tours.
LOLOLOLOL. Obama is just another slimey politician at heart.
Truth Conveyer
"....another slimey politician?"
It is far worse than that. Obama hails from BANKRUPT Illinois and Chicago.
The Liberals are "so distraught" at NOT SPENDING MONEY THAT WE DO NOT HAVE they they insist on running around "moaning about" eleven year-olds unable to tour the White House and people waiting "longer" in security lines at airports so that they can "hurry up and wait" at the gate.
What other "disasters" are the Liberal Politicians and Liberal Press going to focus on?
The fact is that jobs are "going away" that "never would have existed in the first place" BUT FOR the pandering politicians (Democrats AND REPUBLICANS) spending BORROWED MONEY.
Did you see that there was a bill put forward yesterday to make up the expense by eliminating the US taxpayers from paying for Obama's trips to the golf course. That would more than make up the $2 million. At least Bush had the decency to stop playing golf after the wars started. Where is Cindy Shewhan when you need her?
Let the President play golf, for God's sake. He's the one who has to decide whether to attack North Korea, arm Syrian fighters, withdraw troops from Afghanistan now or later, etc. You know, all those little decisions the Congress is too busy showing donors around D.C. to think about.
Bush may have stopped playing golf but he didn't quit traveling to Texas to "cut brush."
Us tax payers don't pay for Obama's trips to the golf course. He the President does. Secret Service rules don't allow him to go along or drive himself.
Also, that is a darn lie stop playing golf after the wars started. Bush never stopped playing golf and that is a FACT!!!
amy -- i say let him play all the golf he wants as long as it is close enough to his house that he can be driven there.
Don,
FYI Bush is no longer POTUS. What he did then is irrelevent to today's discussion about Obama's irresponsible spending.
Amy - You missed the $250 Million he gave Egypt the other day when he was prattling about the having to close the white house because of the lack of money.
Job1 - You obviously are nort any type of business man. The little junket to go play golf with Tiger the other day only set the taxpayers back about $900 Thousand. The SS expenses are still attributable to the golf trips, date night in NYC, etc.
You are the type that focus on your rent payment but don't associate the insurance, utilities, groceries, etc. as part of your living costs and then wonder why you have to file bankruptcy because you rented too expensive an apartment.
Well thinker,
You must not understand the Federal Laws. Arguments against Obama vacations are a pretty stupid argument.
The actual cost of his food and lodging he pays for himself. Secret Service rules don't allow him to go along, fly commercial or drive himself. So, if we as a nation did away with the Secret Service protection, we would have a different President every two weeks due the crazies out there.
You can't tell the President of the United States that he has to stay in the White House.
I bet you would not be bitching 4 years later if Willard Romney had won.
I know most of you from the right don't respect Barack Obama, but he is our President, and being so, is afforded many benefits that befit the Office no matter who is residing there. Any first Family pay their own personal expenses that includes, meals served in the Family Quarters, their own dry cleaning, expenses for vacations, private off residence dining and entertainment unless the premises chooses to make it gratis as a courtesy. The costs for travel, again, they are not the first to travel to home or vacations whilst in office, are covered in the Federal Government's Budget by way of the OMB (Office of Management and Budget) this is the same for every President, whether we like them or not.
For me I like to see our Presidents travel as befits their Office, it makes me very proud to see AF1 sitting on the tarmac in any area or country, it stands for something......US.
The vulgar petty posts are getting tiresome and do not reflect on us being exceptional, disagreements over policy are one thing, state your opposition and why, not just criticize and often very rudely, and is often very petty and extremely divisive.
Well said, Gingerbread Mama!!!
Job, if Governor Romney had won, you would be bitching and moaning every single day on here about every little thing he would have done. You guys did this during the campaign.
Well thank God Willard didn't win!
Ginger,
Somehow Romney was demonized for enjoying all of those benefits on his dime. LOL. You are a hypocrate extrordianare.
His dime my ass. He makes money off of tax evasion and loopholes. Thank God he lost.
Romney's enormous success in the private sector would have been a tremndous benefit to the US. Instead, we will need to muddle along with the ameteur that we currently have while Romney continues to amass wealth due to his expertise.
Dammit, accidentally voted 4.14 up.
And screwing over all the average people and avoiding taxes as he steps all over them to amass that wealth.
Liberals just don't get it. This is no more than a political stunt than any substantive cutting. Lets start taking about making some real cuts and then we can start talking about a balanced approach. I perfectly fine with a compromise that closes tax loopholes (remember that is what republicans proposed before and Obama said no) but only with substantial spending cuts. Dems have gotten huge tax increases via the last fiscal cliff fiasco and the ACA and now it is time to talk about some serious expense cuts. The $4 million a year this will save is less than the cost of a vacation in Hawaii for the Obama family.
How do you feel about the sequester cuts to the National Health Institute, which the directer says may delay or halt finding cures for diseases like Alzheimer's, cancer and influenza? Did you know medical research is something you can't easily restart after its been defunded? Did you know young scientists are choosing to move to countries more committed to funding their research than the US? Seems like all the press wants to talk about are these stupid tours.
Hey, but cutting Meals on Wheels... that's a GREAT money-saver there, isn't it, Sparky?
i agree other countries may be more committed ---- a friend of mine is taking her son to canada for treatment, because in canada, they have a drug that helps with that problem, but our fda won't allow that drug here.
Amy B: I don't know that "young scientists" are moving to other countries. The problem is the difficulty in finding permanent employment. I've been avoiding joining academia for as long as possible, but if something doesn't materialize within the next few months, I'll probably end up as a college professor. With what happened to the economy, a lot of the older generation aren't retiring, so the turnover has basically stopped and the younger generation aren't taking over.
Factor in the way the financial sector leeching off some of the potential scientists (after all, a scientist doesn't get paid anywhere near what an investment banker does, and both require the same sort of "imagination" and math skills), and the pool of young scientists employed in the US shrinks.
I'd love to have a staff position at a national lab, but unfortunately I can only get contract work for now.
while we're on that topic, i wonder how many people might be alive today, if the FDA wasn't so slow to approve new medications......
standup ----- i'm not totally sure, but i don't believe meals on wheels is federally funded.
The Obama family pays for their vacation in Hawaii. That is a FACT!!!
Matt
I have seen very little reporting about this issue, but what I have read I find chilling:
http://www.suntimes.com/business/18569009-420/sequester-cuts-could-set-back-medical-science-a-generation.html
amy,
really, the sequester is not even a funding cut. It is a slowing down of the constant growth of government. How can we support a 5% increase in the budget every year when our economy is only growing at 2%?
Also the Affordable Care Act will due more to de-fund research than any budget cut. How is a doctor supposed to pay off 400-500 k in student loan bills if they do not get paid once they are working? How would you like to sacrifice 8-10 years of your life and not get paid for it?
What about private capital? That is what is needed to fund research. Government grant money is not the way to fund medical research any ways. It is a total waste of money.
@ronpal, each local MOW program has different funding, but very few are totally "private" funded. Most are state programs that are supported/operated locally by local non-profit groups, but receive federal funding through the Older American Act and Medicaid. The percentage of donations vs. federal funding will vary from one local program to another, and are usually federally funded through block grants to the states. In 2012, the GOP House budget bills all tried to totally eliminate the funding for these programs.
Here is a link to a CT website that lists the twelve federal food assistance programs that are being affected by the sequester. http://www.endhungerct.org/federal-food-programs
BTW I accidentally voted you up when I was trying to click on the "reply" button.
Amy - How many people can't come up with some inflated reason for having their paycheck cut. That is Hendrix OPINION that it would set back her research. There is no proof that it will happen. Just like obama has paraded around the country about preaching gloom and doom to all that would listen.
But I understand your position. You would rather keep social programs going despite the projected demise of the world's leading economy. According to obama there isn't going to be any money left in America so you are going to have to plead your case to the Chinese for continued funding on cancer research.
@subnormal: Actually, you're incorrect. I'm one of the people subject to a "sequester," and we're being asked to operate on a budget smaller than last year. Last year's budget was a big shrink from the year before.
We're still not sure of the impact, it might only be a few percent, which we can "eat," but seems to me like cutting things like energy research and such isn't really a forward-looking model.
anti ------ that link you recommended is for connecticut ------ it would appear that in my state, at least, that program is locally run, and supported in part by the state ----- if there was assistance to the state from the feds, i could find no mention of that.
if they can save $2 billion by doing this, it's fine by me.
the pres. is a mean spirited little man.
The President is mean because he has cut tours of the White House, but the Republicans are heroes for cutting Defense, which affects small businesses?
Read more: http://www.politico.com/story/2013/03/small-defense-contractors-bearing-brunt-of-cuts-88516.html#ixzz2MsaPXWGB
So why is it you and the rest of the left have spent 10 years calling for a smaller DoD budget, but when it happens it the end of the world? Make up your mind!
actually, it was cuts in defense spending which helped clinton achieve a balanced budget.
ironic, isn't Chip? Guess the Republicans can no longer refer to themselves as the party that's "strong on defense." Strong on protecting tax deductions for corporate jets, more like.
Amy really... And the faux outrage aboutthese things is laughable. Most of these folks can't have mirrors in their homes. It's how they avoid looking themselves in the eye...
So it was the repubs that cut defense? As I recall they weren't able to get a bill passed with out dem support and the prez - a DEMOCRAT - made it a law to cut defense spending. A bill is merely a "desire"ment, but enacting a law makes it a requirement.
Don't you remember when obama was breaking his arm patting himself on the back when he signed it? Of course not, that would undermine your position.
Amy, it was you and your ilk who screamed "CUT DEFENSE SPENDING, CUT DEFENSE SPENDING, our defense budget is HUGE, cut it, slice it, lower it", and now that it will be affected it's "why are you cutting the defense budget, why oh why oh why???"
North Korea wins.
Cutsauce, you'll need to explain that little gem.
This is laughable cut back. But to be expected from someone who is completely inept to be President.
If your business in debt to your eyeballs, do you keep paying the lawyer you hired or fire him and look for an experienced business person to help you rebuild your business out of that hole? BTW...the lawyer you hired has already been billing you for 4 years straight and has doubled your debt. What is the logical choice?
Truth_Hurts-3416308
No, No , No I heard the President say that we can't cut our way to prosperity. We evidently have to spend our way there. Some how, Some way, by his math, if we are 17 trillion in debt, we need to borrow more & spend more & in the end, we will all be better off. I think all Americans should try this formula at home for a month & see how it works out. If your broke, borrow some money & spend the crap out of it. Then see where you are next month.
deerhunterbow--you don't understand that the gov works differently. When interest rates are functionally zero, you should borrow money IF necessary to stimulate employment and renew crumbling infrastructure among other smart moves. The stimulus then works its way thru the economy providing employment for servicing other small business (some not as small as most people think) and increased taxes from the workers to the gov. Or you could do what they did in Britain -- cut gov spending to the bone and suffer a third recession in a row. That's what Paul Ryan thinks. You choose.
Opajack - in the two days we have had of Sequesternomics, the Dow has been the strongest in a long time and unemployment rates went down a bit, no thanks to Obama. So far so good! We need more REAL cuts. We have a lot of waste in BILLIONS of $$$ of "appeasement money" being sent to other countries. Our foreign aid should be the first place we look for cut backs. Second place would be internal government amenities and unnecessary staffing.
Every RESPONSIBLE organization in the world, including governments, need to work off of a budget to know where they are truly at financially and provide accountability. Obama's administration has failed to work with Congress in that regard, and any economist will tell you that having a budget is the deal starting point for understanding what direction to take in rebuilding an economy. Without a budget and government accountability on spending, we as a country are BLIND and will eventually crash economically as a result, just as businesses, charities, churches, families and even governments of other countries have done. Buckle up!
deerhunter - I've maxed out my credit cards, written every check in the checkbook, smashed the kid's piggy bank, looked under the cushions on the couch, looked in the coin return slots of phone booths (yes, they are rare) and vending machines, cashed in my "spare" gold jewelery and sold some blood to the plasma center. As I did this I have blown it on frivolous things and have yet to see a single penny show up in any of my accounts.
What am I doing wrong?
The only prosperity I have noticed is that the merchants are smiling bigger as I leave. What is going on with all of the collection notices I'm receiving. I've told several collection agencies that I'm good for it, they'll just have to wait until 2016.
My creditors don't see the logic of wanting to borrow more since their interest rates are at all time lows and that when the interest rates go up I'll be doing great because I'll be better off with the low rates locked in.
In the words of obama "to all of you that I pissed off, lets's go to dinner. My treat."
How much would we save cancelling a few "wars" (war on poverty, war on drugs, war on stupidity - wait a minute, for this I am willing to pay)
Let's turn the heat down 5 degrees on the Speaker John Boehner's office and the rest of the Congress and see how how they deal with it.
no...since most people in Congress are so old, they would never be at work because the cold would make their arthritis act up and their old joints ache too much. They would have to stay home....or relocate Congress to SunCity, Florida.
howy ------ well, that's not a bad idea ----- google "costs of running congress" ----- could save a lot of money by only having congress in session 4 months out of the year.
Hey ronpal, that is all they are going to be in session for this year anyway, according to the 126 day work schedule of Cantor. The problem is that they expect to be paid for the other 339/40 days of the year when they are doing nothing, along with their over-bloated staff, their per-diem, benefits, etc.
well, then cut the time even more ---- it isn't like congress ever does anything important enough that requires more time. ------ they certainly don't take the time to read all the bills they pass or try to pass.
This is just a drop in the bucket. They need to be making major cuts. Smoke and mirrors.
sorry double post
if we can save 2 million a year on something so simple as this , imagine... what if we went line by line on the budget and set priorities on spending. I sure we could save billions. I suppose it is as they say: you eat an elephant one bite at a time.
true
Sometimes I think about how much I could save if I gave up my apartment and lived on the street. Then I think about the stress of sleeping in a homeless shelter, or the cost of eating out for all my meals, the price of a gym membership so I could take showers, and the cost of a storage locker to keep my clothes and stuff. Makes me feel better about writing that rent check. Sometimes cutting back spending is like cutting your nose to spite your face.
Well Amy then just put everything on a credit card and live it up and don't worry about tomorrow! Ever hear about living within your means? not spending more than you make? Saving money for your future? Are these concepts alien to you??
amy -- you sure do have a penchant for exaggeration. no one is asking for the equivalent of giving up your apartment but they may be asking that you have one less granola bar a month.
amy ---- there's a big difference between a major expense like an apartment, and other smaller expenses, such as stopping at starbucks for coffee every morning. ------ and besides, you could always move into a lesser expensive apartment, or move in with someone else who has an extra bedroom, and split the rent.
Why not tackle the waste, fraud, and abuse of the taxpayers money of welfare. Make welfare a hand up not a handout. No food stamp use for prepared/fast foods, only nutritious food can be purchased (no soda, gum, candy, etc). Put unemployment back to 26 wks and no disability for alcoholics and drug addicts. Those are self inflicted conditions. No more lavish parties, conferences, travel, oil paintings of the heads in the government agencies as well as our politicians. Immediately FIRE all federal employees that haven't paid their taxes and freeze hiring as well at the fed level. If WE THE PEOPLE have to live within our budgets then the crooks on the hill and in the WH should as well. Term limits and NO lifetime pension equal to their salary. They are suppose to be public servants -- time to treat them as such.
Great post. I would love to see term limits and no pension.
back before they invented food stamps, i was on food assistance briefly ----- all you received was a voucher for certain basic food items, such as powdered eggs and powdered milk. ------ now, people can buy things like pop, and candy, and potato chips.
Like dotties said, it should be a hand up not a hand out. You said briefly. I think most people would want to help people when they get in a position that they are not to be able to. We know that the system is overly abused and no accountability.
well... the reason i was on assistance was that the apartment building i was living in had been torched by an arsonist ----- lost everything i owned ----- but i was able to find a job after a couple of weeks, so didn't need the assistance very long. ----- i was grateful for the assistance, but can't imagine relying on it for months or years like i see some people doing nowadays.
I agree with all of you. I don't mind helping anyone & think we should. But some people make a Career out of assistance & think we all owe it to them. I am as lazy as anyone & don't like getting up & going to work either but I like to think my efforts are appreciated more than what I have seen. Some have no problem taking what they get & then bashing people for thinking there is to much abuse of the system.
If someone qualifies for foodstamps, they are pretty darn poor. I would not envy them that lifestyle. I am barely making it, and I don't qualify for food stamps. Hate to think of someone poorer than me.
And out come the anti-welfare queen rhetoric posts. Aren't happy with the way welfare is handed out, take it up with your state/local governments. They control who does/does not receive welfare.
http://usgovinfo.about.com/od/federalbenefitprograms/a/welfarereform.htm
Actually, all members of Congress have had to auto-pay into SS since 1983. They have the CHOICE of putting additional money into one of two supplemental retirement programs, just like private corp 401K's. What we MUST do is pass a constitutional amendment that establishes a federal pay/benefits commission that is formed every four years in May of a presidential election year that has two months to establish the pay/benefits for the following four years for all elected/appointed (non-civil servant officials). That is the only way of taking away from Congress the ability to set their own pay and benefits. Right now, they have given themselves a much more lucrative package than other federal employees that are under the same retirement program. And we,t eh taxpayers are paying 4/5 of the cost of the retirement program (actually we are paying all of it, since we also pay their salary from which their 1/5 contribution comes.)
http://www.ntu.org/on-capitol-hill/pay-and-perks/information-on-congressional.html
I've been bitching for and about term limits and retirement of these leaches for about 40 years, So why has it taken so many so long to come to an obvious conclusion? Here is a question for ya'll, who pays the Federal Senators and Congress people from each state? When you come up with the right answer, answer this one. Who do they really work for? Maybe we need to make some changes to payroll to.
No allow this sight to have full access my entire face book information, friends, games played, all posts posted, pictures, religious beliefs Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah no post on here. NBC I'm calling bull@!$%# on you. Your nothing but a bunch of ignorant Hillbillies, you hillbilly.
$74K a week? Heck, that's peanuts. The Federal Government spends that much on ball point pens every week. How 'bout withdrawing the $250M going to Egypt, plus the 20 F-16s ($24M each) and the 200 Abrahms tanks ($4M each) for starters? DHS just purchased 2,700 MRAPS (Mine Resistant Armor Protected Vehicles) with a price tag of $500K each, plus 1.6B rounds of hollow point bullets and spent $50M on TSA uniforms. Our tax dollars at work - go figure.
Believe it or not, the money we spent on Egypt is buying them some peace in that part of the Mid East at the moment. How we benefit? beats me...
that's the problem with aid to other countries ---- we can only hope it will get used in a way that makes sense.
Hello Truth - yeah, I can see the foreign aid piece to keep things quiet in that part of the world. Of course, if the USA was energy dependent, we wouldn't have to care about the Middle East. The resources are here, but this White House is afraid to upset the tree huggers. Lastly, about the MRAPs, I don't ever recall having to dodge a mine in the road, so why do we need MRAPs?
Haven't you watched Die Hard?
i am curious what a $100K per year secret service person does for these tours. i presume they are standing in certain places to ensure that someone (who has gone through security screening) is not going to do -- what?
it would seem that this is more for show than anything else; takes it right to main street to penalize kids with class trip plans for DC get hurt.
hard to imagine that there was not a different, less visible thing they could have done to save money.
perhaps they could advise the president that because of all the drastic cuts resulting from the sequester -- things like 2000 additional criminals on the streets, unsupervised aircraft in the skies, unsafe food and water as examples of what we have heard from the administration that he should stay home for awhile --
with him in the house secret service expenses are reduced and tours could resume
37 Officers to watch a bunch of tourists that have likely had a considerable electronic background check ran on them? Our county sheriffs department doesn't have that many officer (who likely are far less trained) to police over 50,000 people.... Somehow I doubt that this will save anywhere near money this article is claiming, I would wager that most of the officers will continue to work their regular rounds only their salary will be pulled from a different budget. Politics................
I wonder how much it cost for Obama to fly down to Florida to play golf with Tiger.
Peter17
Estimates on TV last night was that it cost about $900,000.00 for the weekend. Less than a million but being President, it's his money.
The cost to fly Air Force 1 for an hour is about $180K. Surely he didn't use AF1 to go play golf with Tiger...surely not....
WOW! $74,000 a week. That means they will be able to run the government ONE MORE SECOND per week. Unless they find that it takes that much more to run the government without the tours.
STOP SPENDING. STOP SPENDING. STOP SPENDING. Then come around asking for more.
$50/hr x 2080 hrs/year = $104,000 per year + benefits for a tour guide.
any questions why government needs to be reduced?
I've read another story from a much more reliable source than NBC that says the secret service agents get paid $30 dollar an hour not $50 and there are only 30 not 37 also the tours were only for 20 hrs a week not 40. If one does the math it comes to: 30 x $30 = $900 x 20 = $18,000 a week. Not the same as $74,000 a week again the Obama administration lying to the public by exaggerating the truth. But even if it falls at $74,000 a week it is far less than the cost of Obama flying somewhere and playing golf, that would involve far more agents and security plus a flight crew,maintenance crew and fuel for the 747 jumbo jet know as AF-1 Obama would use.
This is politics at it's worst!
as i recall, another thing which occurs when a president has travel plans, is that the secret service goes to that location first, to organize all the security procedures, routes of travel, etc. ----- so..... you've got multiple agents traveling by plane more than once.
anativeTexas
again the Obama administration lying to the public by exaggerating the truth.
That's why his approval rating has dropped 7 points in the last week down to 46%. Everyone is finally seeing President Titty Baby for who he is.
Much more reliable source??? Could you cite it for us and let us decide if it's more reliable?
Wouldn't happen to be The Blaze, would it?
Why don't they just charge for the tours like any other museum does?? It could even be a small amount to at least break even. How many people per tour? Even $1-$5/person would be a big help. I've never been to the White House and my taxes are paying for everyone elses visits!!
Took the tour 45 years ago. National Archives and Smithsonian are better tours as well as the Capitol tour is great. And I have cried everytime I have taken the walk beside the Wall.
Well, didn't Obama's recent 3 day trip to FL to play golf cost $900000.00? There's some excessive spending that the nation could have probably done without!
You can't tell the President that he can't take a trip to play golf. Secret Service rules want allow him to travel alone.
Job1 correct. It's federal law...
So I guess he should just hold up im the WH for the ight years like all of the other presidents.
Oh, wait... That's NEVER happened.
Replace Secret Service with "Walmart" type greeters. Will accomplish two things; satisfies federal rules regarding hiring the elderly and (wait for it) keeps the Secret Service from hitting on tourists.