Inaugural Bawl

Commenter Stevo asked why we see so many complaints about spending on the inaugural parties and ceremony, especially since the money is private.

A few points to consider:

1. This shouldn't be an issue. The private donations are expected to reach $40 million, which is peanuts. Will Lester of the AP suggests that the cash could have been used as "a down payment on the nation's deficit, which hit a record-breaking $412 billion last year." We hate to disappoint Will, but a $40 million dollar downpayment wouldn't even be noticeable on this year's deficit - he would still report it at $412 billion - let alone on the total national debt. That problem needs to be remedied; donations aren't the way to do it.

2. Most of the whiners are liberals. The right would be complaining about the same thing if the man in the motorcade was John Kerry.

3. This isn't lost money. It's not being used in the most productive way, since no capital good is being produced, but it will all make it back into the pocketbooks of American cops, caterers, etc. As long as money keeps circulating, the economy is healthy; it's when people stop spending that the whole thing can tank. I have a related argument with my grandmother frequently. She's a devotee of voluntary poverty (after growing up as a playmate of the princesses of Norway), and spends no more on herself than is necessary for the basics of life. Eating out for her kids was the family's annual trip to McDonalds. Anyway, she's also a socialist and a charismatic Catholic, which makes her a real trip to talk to. Any kind of non-necessary spending she objects to, and I find myself explaining that when I spend money on a decent meal or a car, it's not just "disappearing" - it's helping lots of other people keep their jobs. If socialists like her ran the country, we'd all live at the poverty line - money would stop flowing the way it did in 1929. Incidentally, that was the heyday for Keynesian economics; both the Hoover and Roosevelt administrations raised taxes on the wealthy and instituted spending programs, all of which provided some hope but very little material benefit. World War II really gave us the kind of massive deficit spending and employment that we needed to kick-start the economy ("The Arsenal of Democracy" also brought in tons of European wealth).

4. Nobody I know is complaining: the size of the parade, etc, means we get Thursday off, and possibly some of Wednesday! Believe me, no one here is complaining. (Of course, the cost probably quadruples when you add in the lost productivity, but hey, as long as I get the day off... I ain't complaining).