Recession? What recession? The Bushes Buy Fine China for almost 1/2 a mil.

[I.A.S.K.]

Originally Posted by SWTXBelle

So, should the thousands of people who are spending what will be millions of dollars on transportation, hotels, clothing ,meals and tickets for the inauguration cancel because we are in a recession?
citizens wish to donate funds to buy china that it is not newsworthy. Were public funds being used, yes, that would be wrong and newsworthy. I thought the same thing when it was reported that friends of the Clintons were buying expensive furnishings for them as they left office.

As far as it being "our china" - it is ours in the sense that all of the exhibits at the Smithsonian are ours, that all of our national parks are ours, that the White House, whether you can go there or not, is ours. The china does not belong to an individual. It will be used at White House functions by the Obamas and future presidents when they entertain heads of state and foreign dignitaries in their role as the representatives of the American people. I do not know if all administrations buy china - I remember the Reagan china, but cannot recall if the Clintons or Bushes part I purchased any.

The thousands of people going to the inauguration should not cancel. All of their purchases together will be millions. It would be different if each person were spending 1/2 a mil. Then Hell Yes they should cancel.

In the land of the sometimes free and brave any and almost everything is newsworthy. Beyonce took a fall and CNN covered it so, there aren't many limits on what is newsworhty.

What private citizens do is their choice, but when the choice is also made by the head family of our country (the one that sets an expample for the families of America) and the choice effects the American people I think it is more than newsworthy. I think that in a recession certain purchases are bad. It is a bad idea if your income has been drastically slashed for you to allow a family memeber to buy you a new couch when you already have several and don't need one. When you are appealing to others to give you a loan to help cover your bills what do you expect them to say about that new furniture? Also, what do you expect your kids to learn from that? I'll be damned if a president is going to tell me that we need to spend 700 Billion on a bailout when there's enough money out there to spend .5mil on china. Ask the china buyers to pay for a bail-out not the American people. And as another note, yes Mrs. Clinton did buy new china and the Clintons left office with a surplus. There was extra money to be spent as far as Im concerned.

The Smithsonian and national parks can be used by all people equally. It'd be different if some people could take the exhibits in the Smith home while most of us couldnt. We all have equal access and use of the things you mentioned. I do not consider the white house mine either. I cannot use it as such it is not mine. The things that belong to the American people can be used by the american people.