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November 19, 2008
Obama Coronation Extravaganza May Bankrupt DC
Posted by Dave Blount at November 19, 2008 7:27 AM
Obama will be getting off to an early start bankrupting the country — literally with his inauguration:
Soaring costs expected to accompany huge crowds in town for the Jan. 20 inauguration of Barack Obama could stick cash-strapped Washington, D.C., with a record-breaking bill for services.
Security and capacity measures recommended by the District’s congressional delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton and others will almost certainly surpass the $15 million the federal government gives to the District each year to defray the cost of events, Norton said.
In 2005, with an estimated 300,000 in attendance, the second inauguration of President Bush cost the city more than $17 million, some of which was reimbursed with federal funds. This year, officials estimate nearly five times that many people for the swearing in of President-elect Barack Obama.
But no expense is too great to commemorate this crucial moment in history: The Year America Went Off the Rails. The price DC pays is nothing to what this train wreck will cost us all before the smoke clears.
Obama's coronation will be pricey — in more ways than one.
On a tip from V the K.
