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I am so tired of this, while Americans are suffering, this goes one. Cut spending in Washington, Period. This is stealing from the American Taxpayer's!!!! How dare they???????
Obama Family's Pricey Vacations are Gaining International Attention
Photo: AP - President Barack Obama
BY MALIA ZIMMERMAN - President Barack Obama and his family are attracting international attention once again for their pricey vacation in Martha's Vineyard at a time when most Americans are suffering in a down economy. The London Daily Mail, one of the top news sources in Europe, was following up on criticisms that Obama’s extravagant vacations in places like Hawaii and Martha’s Vineyard are costing taxpayers millions of dollars.
"The Obamas' summer break on Martha's Vineyard has already been branded a PR disaster after the couple arrived four hours apart on separate government jets. But according to new reports, this is the least of their extravagances. ..
"White House sources today claimed that the First Lady has spent $10 million of U.S. taxpayers' money on vacations alone in the past year," the paper reports.
Boston Herald reports that GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney also attacked Obama's vacation plans today at a forum. "“You got 20 million people out of work right now, Mr. President — out of work, with part-time work or they stopped looking for work. You shouldn’t be on the Vineyard playing golf, you should be doing your job getting Americans back to work,” Romney said. Hawaii Reporter was cited in the international news report for investigation into the cost to taxpayers for President Barack Obama’s 2010 Hawaii Christmas vacation, which extended into January 2011.
Some of the cost estimates for the Hawaii trip included:
Obama’s round trip flight to Hawaii via Air Force One: $1 million (GAO estimates)
Mrs. Obama’s early flight to Hawaii: $63,000 (White House Dossier)
Housing in beachfront homes for Secret Service and Seals in Kailua ($1,200 a day for 14 days): $16,800
Costs for White House staff staying at Moana Hotel: $134,400 ($400 per day for 24 staff) – excluding meals and other room costs
Local police overtime: $250,000 (2009 costs reported by Honolulu Police Department)
Ambulance: $10,000 (City Spokesperson)
TOTAL COST: $1,474,200
UNKNOWN COSTS
Rental of office building in Kailua on canal
Security upgrades and additional phone lines to private homes where Obama and friends are staying
Costs for car rentals and fuel for White House staff staying at Moana Hotel
Surveillance before the President arrives
Travel costs for Secret Service and White House staff traveling ahead of the President
In addition, costs should have been added for the Hawaii trip for USAF C-17 cargo aircraft that transported the Presidential limos, helicopters and other support equipment. The flight time between Andrews Air Force Base and Hawaii is at about 20 hours roundtrip, with estimated operating cost of $7,000 per hour (GAO report) for a total of $140,000 per roundtrip. Sources say the United States Marine Corps provides a presidential helicopter, along with pilots and support crews for the test flights, which travel on another C-17 flight at $140,000 for a total of $280,000. Hawaii Reporter requested details on the cost of the President’s trip, but the White House would not release any figures, citing security concerns. A spokesperson maintains the costs are in line with other presidential vacations. Hawaii Reporter also sought to determine the taxpayer cost of all Hawaii vacations but never received any reply from four emails sent earlier this year to the U.S. General Services Administration, the agency that tracks these costs.
The London Daily Mail documents costs for other pricey vacations in addition to those in Martha's Vineyard and Hawaii.
"The First Lady is believed to have taken 42 days of holiday in the past year, including a $375,000 break in Spain and a four-day ski trip to Vail, Colorado, where she spent $2,000 a night on a suite at the Sebastian hotel.
"And the first family's nine-day stay in Martha's Vineyard is also proving costly, with rental of the Blue Heron Farm property alone costing an estimated $50,000 a week."
According to U.S. News and World Report, the Coast Guard has its ships around the property, and the staffing for the presidential helicopter and jet are always prepared for immediate orders.
The same was true for his vacation in Hawaii.
Read the full report: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2029615/Michelle-Obama-accused-spending-10m-public-money-vacations.html#ixzz1W7Ak8Sc3
I'm so tired of the incessant nitpicking, insults, whining, screeching, complaining, name calling, etc of the president & his family. People, please just shut it already.
We give our presidents a salary for a reason. They should use it for their vacations. If they can't afford that lavish security with their salary then I say too bad, stay back in Washington DC or perhaps don't **** so many people off that you're so worried for your life.
This goes for Obama, any future presidents, and should have been for Bush and any previous presidents. Americans need to pass a law preventing them from using taxpayer money (other than their salary) for their stupidity.
Huh? I'm right behind you at 63. I grew up the same way, and you know what? So did my kids! Stories about kids being kidnapped are as old as time.
I'm curious as to what your father predicted. Mine was always talking about the US being in a decline, this in the 1950s! Did your father predict that (gasp!) a black man would be elected president? That he would be from Hawaii and actually expect to go there once a year? What?
Why should Obama quit going to Hawaii? It's his home state, and it was a family tradition of his and Michelle's to go there for Christmas long before he became president. His sister lives there, for G*d's sake!
As far as Herman Cain's plans via the game Sim City, what do they have to do with Obama's vacations? Cain was so busy making and selling pizzas, he didn't really know much about government. As DH once said, "he doesn't know as much as we do!"
when you meet my posts with sarcasum and condiscention, I won't even bother....b/c no matter what I would say, you would try your best to be indignant..and condiscending no matter what....you refuse to picture a broader scope and think outside the box....just a bit.
We give our presidents a salary for a reason. They should use it for their vacations. If they can't afford that lavish security with their salary then I say too bad, stay back in Washington DC or perhaps don't **** so many people off that you're so worried for your life.
This goes for Obama, any future presidents, and should have been for Bush and any previous presidents. Americans need to pass a law preventing them from using taxpayer money (other than their salary) for their stupidity.
well said....thank you, the Obama followers are missing the entire point of this thread....
thank you for getting this....and for your post....
I'm so tired of the incessant nitpicking, insults, whining, screeching, complaining, name calling, etc of the president & his family. People, please just shut it already.
you better believe I'm going to whine when they are spending my tax dollars for such extravagance, this is highway robbery, not to mention his 1 M golf outing with Tig....
and like others said, it's not just about this president, but the whole pathetic lot of them, they need to stop doing this....
Expensive massages, top shelf vodka and five-star hotels: First Lady accused of spending $10m in public money on her vacations
The Obamas' summer break on Martha's Vineyard has already been branded a PR disaster after the couple arrived four hours apart on separate government jets. But according to new reports, this is the least of their extravagances.
White House sources today claimed that the First Lady has spent $10million of U.S. taxpayers' money on vacations alone in the past year.
Expensive taste: Michelle Obama, pictured yesterday in Massachusetts, has been accused of spending $10m of public money on vacations
Branding her 'disgusting' and 'a vacation junkie', they say the 47-year-old mother-of-two has been indulging in five-star hotels, where she splashes out on expensive massages and alcohol.
The 'top source' told the National Enquirer: 'It's disgusting. Michelle is taking advantage of her privileged position while the most hardworking Americans can barely afford a week or two off work.[/SIZE]
'When it's all added up, she's spent more than $10million in taxpayers' money on her vacations.
His and her jets: The President and his wife, who are spending nine days on Martha's Vineyard, have come under fire for travelling on separate planes
The First Lady is believed to have taken 42 days of holiday in the past year, including a $375,000 break in Spain and a four-day ski trip to Vail, Colorado, where she spent $2,000 a night on a suite at the Sebastian hotel.
And the first family's nine-day stay in Martha's Vineyard is also proving costly, with rental of the Blue Heron Farm property alone costing an estimated $50,000 a week.
The source continued: 'Michelle also enjoys drinking expensive booze during her trips. She favours martinis with top-shelf vodka and has a taste for rich sparking wines.
The vacations are totally Michelle's idea. She's like a junkie. She can't schedule enough getaways, and she lives from one to the next - all the while sticking it to hardworking Americans.
Travelling in style: Mrs Obama during her $375,000 trip to Spain last year
High security: Bodyguards surround the First Lady and youngest daughter Sasha as they take a stroll on the Costa del Sol
While the President and his wife do pay for some of their personal expenses from their own pocket, the website whitehousedossier.com says that the amount paid by the couple is 'dwarfed by the overall cost to the public'
The magazine also reported that Mrs Obama, whose fashion choices are widely followed, had been going on 'wild shopping sprees', much to the distress of her husband, who, its sources reveal, is 'absolutely furious' at his wife's 'out-of-control spending'.
The President has already come under fire this week over his decision to take a family vacation while millions of Americans are out of work and countless more are financially strapped
Luxury break: The President and his family, pictured in December, splashed out more than $1.5million on a Christmas holiday in Hawaii
'Winter White House': The property in Kailua cost $38,000 to rent
But the situation sparked further anger after he and his wife elected to fly separately to the Massachusetts retreat - despite travelling on the same day.
Mr Obama left the White House aboard Marine One on his way to Andrews Air Force base to hitch a lift aboard Air Force One - along with First Dog Bo.
After landing at Cape Cod Coast Guard Air Station, he then took a final helicopter to his holiday destination to complete the remarkable 500-mile journey.
His wife and daughters, who arrived just four hours earlier, were also travelling from Washington, but took a specially designed military aircraft.
They would also have had their own motorcade from the airport to the vacation residence. FIRST LADY OF LUXURY TRAVEL: HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE OBAMAS' LAVISH GETAWAYS OVER THE PAST 12 MONTHS
GIRLS' TRIP TO SPAIN: AUGUST 2010
The exact cost is unclear as Mrs Obama and her 40 friends footed many personal expenses, such as hotels and meals themselves.
But the U.S. taxpayer would have paid for the First Lady's 68-strong security detail, personal staff, and use of presidential jet Air Force Two.
Per diems for the secret service team runs at around $281 each - nearly $98,000 for the length of the summer break.
Use of Air Force Two, the Air Force version of a 757, comes in at $149,900 for the round trip. This does not include time on the ground.
Mrs Obama's personal staff, of which there are an unknown amount and might cost considerably more per day, should also be taken into account.
CHRISTMAS BREAK IN HAWAII: DECEMBER 2010
According to the Hawaii Reporter, the bill for the $1.5m trip included:
$63,000 on an early flight bringing Mrs Obama and the children to Hawaii ahead of the President.
$1,000,000 on Mr Obama’s return trip from Washington on Air Force One.
$38,000 for the ‘Winter White House’ beach property rental.
$16,000 to rent nearby homes for Secret Service and Navy Seals.
$134,000 for 24 White House staff to stay at the Moana Hotel.
$251,000 in police overtime.
$10,000 for an ambulance to be on hand at all times
SKI TRIP TO VAIL: FEBRUARY 2011Mrs Obama and her daughters stayed at the Sebastian hotel on Vail Mountain, where rooms cost more than $2,400 for multi-bedroom suites.
The family appear to have flown there on Air Force Two.
They were escorted to the resort by a motorcade of about a dozen vehicles, including 15 state and local law enforcement officers
SUMMER HOLIDAY ON MARTHA'S VINEYARD: AUGUST 2011
The Blue Heron Farm estate, where the Obama family are currently staying, rents for about $50,000 a week.
According to U.S. News and World Report, the Coast Guard is required to keep ships floating near the property, the presidential helicopter and jet remain at the ready and security agents will be on 24-hour duty.
Last edited by cremebrulee; 03-05-2013 at 11:41 AM..
It gets us to your belief that creme brulee is common and nothing special. As is returning to Hawaii if that is where you are from and want to enjoy being with your family and friends. (Where the President enjoys shaved ice. Not creme brulee.)
It gets us to your belief that creme brulee is common and nothing special. As is returning to Hawaii if that is where you are from and want to enjoy being with your family and friends.
He can pay for it. We give him 100,000+ a year and free housing. Perhaps food too.
It gets us to your belief that creme brulee is common and nothing special. As is returning to Hawaii if that is where you are from and want to enjoy being with your family and friends. (Where the President enjoys shaved ice. Not creme brulee.)
And OMG a trip to Vail to go skiing! It is my understanding that the Obamas pay for all their personal expenses on these trips. Hopefully, they got their lift tickets at King Soopers or some other discounter.
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(Where the President enjoys shaved ice. Not creme brulee.)
