President, Taxpayers Give Mrs. Obama a Lavish Birthday Present

by: Caroline Schaeffer
Well, we might not have gotten her a card, but it seems the American people really ponied up this year to get First Lady Michelle Obama a very nice gift: an extended Hawaiian vacation. Mrs. Obama is staying to celebrate her 50th birthday.
The president and his daughters left the island paradise on Saturday evening, but Mr. Obama left the First Lady behind as a “birthday present.”
These “gifts” usually don’t come cheap. According to the White House Dossier:

Mrs. Obama jetted out to Hawaii on an Air Force C-40B Special Mission Aircraft. The Defense Department bills other agencies $6,330 per flight hour for use the plane.
Assuming a flight time from Washington DC to Hawaii of about ten hours, the cost to taxpayers for the flight alone would be about $63,000.

This is not a short stay, either: if she stays until her birthday, that’s at least 11 days away. That’s eleven more days of security and travel costs incurred by American taxpayers.

At a time when many people are struggling financially, does it set a good example to have a 4-member family take two separate jets home from their multi-week vacation? Most families don’t even consider taking two separate cars out to a family dinner because it’s such a waste of gas…