Monday, November 8, 2010

President Obama's Trip: The Math for Dummies


President Obama has taken a trip to India and other parts of Asia, and somewhere someone reported that the trip would cost the taxpayers $200,000,000 U.S. dollars a day. The likes of Rush and Fox News reported this nonsense as if it were fact without even checking the numbers, but that is to be expected from those stupid conservative voices. Stupid? Yes stupid!

The 10 day trip at $200,000,000 a day would cost $2,000,000,000 = $2 billion dollars. Let's say there are 200 people on this trip and let us say the hotel rooms cost $100,000 per day. That would be $1,000,000 for 10 days times 200 people = $200,000,000 for hotels alone. Now, I don't believe for one minute that the hotel rooms for the people traveling with the president cost $100,000 per night, but I am using this ridiculous number to help make a point. That leaves $800,000,000 ($8 hundred million) for food, jet fuel, and everything else. Does anyone with half a brain believe that the trip to India and parts of Southeast Asia is going to cost $2 billion dollars as reported by the legally stupid right wing press?

To give you all some idea of what a trip cost, President Clinton's 12 day trip to Africa in 1998 is reported to have cost around $42 million dollars. Even if you add 10% for inflation that would only place this trip at $46 million dollars.

But, that isn't what this is all about. This is about driving home to the legally dumb and stupid that bite on every word of hatred spoken by the right wing press, that this president isn't worthy of being treated like all the other presidents. I wish Chris Matthews and the rest of the MSNBC crowd would get tougher with the nonsense that comes out of the mouths of the legally dumb right wing press.

Stay tuned.

4 comments:

Unknown said...

Right on!! But it's the 'Right Wing Press' that have given the Conservatives the lead and/or power in government. They lie, tell half truths and conceal or obfuscate the truth in order to further their ends - and in this case, their ends are the election of Conservative Republicans - people who would see the rich get richer and don't care if the poor get poorer. People who would see Obama defeated at every turn - because he's Obama - not because his policies are bad - not because he's a bad President - but because he's a BLACK man in the WHITE house. I challenge ANYBODY to prove to me that that isn't true. Karl Rove is a racist pig - and he, more than anyone else, lies behind Conservative policy.

Whew. I had to get that off my chest.

moneythoughts said...

Nicely said Lou. I am with you all the way.

Theslowlane Robert Ashworth said...

The cost of security for this trip is likely a large wild card not seen in your calculations, but still the $46 million estimate based on Clinton's travel seems a lot more realistic.

Ever since I can remember, our Presidents have gotten flack for their travels and the rhetoric from this crop of Republicans is the most corrosive of all.

India is a very important trading partner and more so in our future. The trip is most likely a good idea. There is just too much grumbling out there for sure. I'm with you on that.

Butch said...

Is there a haircut involved in their calculations? That may explain it or maybe they are all going blind and can't see the numbers in front of them. Larger telepromters may be in order.