The so-called fiscal cliff dominated the headlines for weeks, but, now that it finally passed Congress , President Obama didn’t even bother to hang around the nation’s capital to sign it into law.
Despite the priority placed on this legislation, the president flew back to Hawaii to resume his vacation instead. The Inquisitr has already reported the Christmas/New Year’s vacation is costing taxpayers $4 million, but the second trip has upped the ante considerably.
According to the White House Dossier website, add $3 million more to the price tag for the latest Obama vacation:
“In a move that is rich in irony, President Obama agreed Tuesday night to sign an emergency deficit reduction bill that does almost nothing to rein in spending and then jetted out to Hawaii to resume his vacation at an extra cost of more than $3 million to taxpayers …
“The Obamas could have saved taxpayers millions by returning from Hawaii together after Christmas and then resuming their vacation at one of the many ritzy resorts that lie outside of Washington. If the beach is a must, even a trip to Florida would have been far less expensive.
“Or they could have simply stayed at the White House or Camp David, each a luxurious government-run installation, billing taxpayers a relative pittance.”
The Inquisitr has also reported previously that, according to a new book, the American taxpayer spent a staggering $1.4 billion on the First Family. Barack Obama has also played more rounds of golf than any president in history.
Despite the stated vital importance of averting going over the fiscal cliff, there is a possibility that the bill could be signed by autopen instead of personally by the president, The Daily Caller explains:
“President Barack Obama is roughly 4,700 miles from the document in D.C. His staff could fly the bill by aircraft to his home-away-from-home, or he could use his ‘autopen’ to conduct a long-distance bill-signing …
“The Constitution requires him to sign the bill, but does not say he has to do it in person with his own hand.
“President Barack Obama’s Justice Department says the machine-operated John Hancock is constitutionally kosher, but no court has rubber-stamped their judgement.”
It’s interesting to recall in this context how the news media would go absolutely bananas when Pres. G.W. Bush went to his own ranch in Texas rather than stay in Washington.
Separately, some military families have accused the administration of signing condolence letters to the loved ones of fallen soldiers by mechanical device rather than personally by the president.
The White House has yet to say whether the bill would be flown to Hawaii for signing by Pres Obama or the ‘autopen’ be used at the WH.
— Mark Knoller (@markknoller) January 2, 2013
Do you think that Barack Obama should have signed the fiscal cliff legislation before leaving town to continue his Hawaiian vacation?
Do you think the Obama administration is serious about making any effort at all to cut wasteful government spending despite the grave dangers posed by the massive deficit and the debt?
