Inauguration Facts
A look at this week's festivities by the numbers:
$40 million: <http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/nation/ny-uscost0118,0,4726940.story?coll=ny-nation-big-pix> Cost of Bush inaugural ball festivities, not counting security costs.
$2,000: <http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/0119/p03s01-uspo.html> Amount FDR spent on the inaugural in 1945...about $20,000 in today's dollars.
$20,000: <http://www.ritzcarlton.com/hotels/washington_dc/overview/pressreleases/inaugural_amenities.html> Cost of yellow roses purchased for inaugural festivities by D.C.'s Ritz Carlton.
200: <http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=544&u=/ap/20050114/ap_on_go_pr_wh/inaugural_price_tag_3&printer=1> Number of Humvees outfitted with top-of-the-line armor for troops in Iraq that could have been purchased with the amount of money blown on the inauguration.
$10,000: <http://www.philly.com/mld/dailynews/news/local/10678137.htm> Price of an inaugural package at the Fairmont Hotel, which includes a Beluga caviar and Dom Perignon reception, a chauffeured Rolls Royce and two actors posing as "faux" Secret Service agents, complete with black sunglasses and cufflink walkie-talkies.
400: <http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/0119/p03s01-uspo.html> Pounds of lobster provided for "inaugural feeding frenzy" at the exclusive Mandarin Oriental hotel.
3,000: <http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/0119/p03s01-uspo.html> Number of "Laura Bush Cowboy cookies" provided for "inaugural feeding frenzy" at the Mandarin hotel.
$1: <http://kutv.com/topstories/topstories_story_014105652.html> Amount per guest President Carter spent on snacks for guests at his inaugural parties. To stick to a tight budget, he served pretzels, peanuts, crackers and cheese and had cash bars.
22 million: <http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=544&u=/ap/20050114/ap_on_go_pr_wh/inaugural_price_tag_3&printer=1> Number of children in regions devastated by the tsunami who could have received vaccinations and preventive health care with the amount of money spent on the inauguration.
1,160,000: <http://www.worldonfire.ca/donations.html> Number of girls who could be sent to school for a year in Afghanistan with the amount of money lavished on the inauguration.
$15,000: <http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4282216> The down payment to rent a fur coat paid by one gala attendee who didn't want the hassle of schlepping her own through the airport.
$200,500: <http://www.usatoday.com/travel/hotels/2005-01-06-inauguration_x.htm> Price of a room package at D.C.'s Mandarin Oriental, including presidential suite, chauffeured Mercedes limo and outfits from Neiman Marcus.
2,500: <http://news.bostonherald.com/politics/view.bg?articleid=63696> Number of U.S. troops used to stand guard as President Bush takes his oath of office
26,000: <http://www.oregonlive.com/letters/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/editorial/1106139753241490.xml> Number of Kevlar vests for U.S. soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan that could be purchased for $40 million.
$290: <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4187023.stm> Bonus that could go to each American solider serving in Iraq, if inauguration funds were used for that purpose.
$6.3 million: <http://www.citizen.org/pressroom/release.cfm?ID=1860> Amount contributed by the finance and investment industry, which works out to be 25 percent of all the money collected.
$17 million: <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4187023.stm> Amount of money the White House is forcing the cash-strapped city of Washington, D.C., to pony up for inauguration security.
9: <http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/0119/p03s01-uspo.html> Percentage of D.C. residents who voted for Bush in 2004.
66: <http://abcnews.go.com/images/Politics/972a1BushPreInaugural.pdf> Percentage of Americans who think this over-the-top inauguration should have been scaled back |
