What the Party Could Pay For

The Presidential Inaugural will cost around $40 million. What could that money buy? The Associated Press offers some comparisons:

• Two hundred armored Humvees with the best armor for troops in Iraq
• Vaccinations and preventive health care for 22 million children in regions devastated by the tsunami
• A down payment on the nation's deficit, which hit a record-breaking $412 billion last year
  

The money is coming largely from private sources. But for the first time ever, the inaugural committee is refusing to reimburse the District of Columbia for providing security. DC's city government will have to spend nearly $12 million of its Homeland Security budget to cover the costs. (AP via Yahoo!)