White House saving $18,000 a week by cancelling tours
ABC reports tonight: “Republicans accuse the White House of playing politics. But the White House says it is canceling the tours because sequester spending cuts have sliced $84 million out of the Secret Service’s $1.6 billion budget. And they are the ones who secure the tours. They wouldn’t say how much this saves, so we did some math. Tours are open 20 hours a week and use 30 uniformed Secret Service officers at about $30 an hour. Total saved? Approximately $18,000 a week.” …
Assuming ABC’s per-week estimate is correct, if you’re looking over an entire fiscal year, cancelling the tours saves about $1 million — or two-thirds of a thousandth (.0625 percent) of the entire Secret Service’s annual budget, and leaves about 98.5 percent of the cuts to the agency’s budget to fall elsewhere.
Blowback
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Beatings will continue until morale improves.
tom daschle concerned on March 7, 2013 at 8:29 AM
So they, in essance, have “saved” less than a penny.
And yet, it’s the first time they have ever cut spending to any degree. But only after it was forced on them and they caterwauled endlessly about it.
Bitter Clinger on March 7, 2013 at 8:30 AM
He’s just doing what he can to help the country solve its fiscal problems./lapdogs.
OldEnglish on March 7, 2013 at 8:32 AM
President Revenge.
22044 on March 7, 2013 at 8:33 AM
Did they lay off the 30 uniformed cops? Of course not. So, they are still drawing the $30/hr but just not doing anything. BTW: $30/hour for a cop?
Dingbat63 on March 7, 2013 at 8:36 AM
$18,000.00 = 6 minutes flying cost of AF1.
6 MINUTES !!!!!
Jabberwock on March 7, 2013 at 8:38 AM
It actually doesn’t save any money unless they furloughed or laid off the agents…which I am certain they didn’t because the Fear Monger-n-Chief would have told us again and again. We pay agents a salary (not by the hour – See here and page down to Pay & Work schedule) so they get paid whether they worked the tour beat or sat in the security office playing poker or got the day off.
rcpjr on March 7, 2013 at 8:41 AM
The costs are more than that. Every person taking a tour of the White House must undergo a thorough background check. After all, we are inviting them right into the White House, and the Secret Service needs to know if a person has terrorist ties or has a history of violent mental illness. Those background checks take both time and money to perform.
Even so, it is still a pittance compared to other expenses.
AngusMc on March 7, 2013 at 8:43 AM
Which equals 1/4 of a day of vacation for Michelle.
albill on March 7, 2013 at 8:46 AM
Fortunately, the Marxists have installed enough of their fellow travelers in education so that the New New Math word problems will look like this:
Q: The president’s Christmas vacation cost $4 million. Cutting White House class tours will save $1 million. What percentage of blame should be allotted to Republicans for your missing White House tour?
A: 100%
CJ on March 7, 2013 at 8:47 AM
The People’s House.
Sorry… “People’s”
Abby Adams on March 7, 2013 at 8:51 AM
Proof thart the Whitehouse hates Americans, especially little children…
claudius on March 7, 2013 at 8:53 AM
Oh no, no, no. It’s “the President’s home” according to the Post. Disgusting.
conservative pilgrim on March 7, 2013 at 8:57 AM
The White House has to know that this looks bad on THEM. Surely, the President of the United States has some say in how money is spent in the White House. Where’s Michelle?
Plus, are they really saving money by not having the tours? Apparently, they’re conducted by volunteers, so the only costs are for the Secret Service agents. Have any agents been furloughed? How many? Has anyone even asked? And, if not, how exactly are they saving money?
I wonder how the White House will treat the annual Easter Egg Roll this spring…
sydneyjane on March 7, 2013 at 9:01 AM
Easily made up by canceling about 10 minutes of AF1 flight time for one of Bark’s golf outings, or not having lobster on demand for the hulking grifter who likes her seafood.
Bishop on March 7, 2013 at 9:06 AM
I’ll bet most of the people who have included a White House tour in their long-planned trips to Washington DC are Democrats.
Tough luck on that one.
forest on March 7, 2013 at 9:08 AM
The reason why the US government is failing so spectacularly is that the people in charge have no idea how an “office” or program should be run. In private industry and retail, when layoffs occur, you get rid of the unnecessary and the deadwood. Even under union circumstances, you do a last in, first out across the board.
These a$$holes just try to punish the people who are refusing to pay them. The bureaucracy thinks their reason for existence is to exist. If members of congress had any cajonies, they would examine every bureaucrcy, see which ones are reducing expenditures by causing the most pain, or are reducing expenditures first in their core areas for existence, then call those bureaucrats before a congressional tribunal and indite them and fire the by impeachment, if necessary.
Maybe, the next thing is to hold hearings with the national press to find out if they are smart enough to know they are being played. But, as long as a dhimpcrapt corrouptocrook is in office, there is no hope of redress, correction, or improvement.
Old Country Boy on March 7, 2013 at 9:11 AM
Harry Reid didn’t care for the “smell of the People” either when they arrived for Capitol Bldg tours.
ted c on March 7, 2013 at 9:13 AM
Get rid of the official dog walker. They can walk their own dog and clean his poop, too.
Get rid of Moochelle’s stylist, hair dresser, make up person.
Make grandma start paying rent.
No more vacations which cost the taxpayers millions.
Blake on March 7, 2013 at 9:14 AM
Let’s all go for our favorite football cheer: “Hit ‘em again, harder, harder.”
Old Country Boy on March 7, 2013 at 9:16 AM
My belief is that Obama did not like people taking the tours anyway.
SC.Charlie on March 7, 2013 at 10:29 AM