Visits by ex-Presidents apparently require expenditures of “dead Presidents.” The Journal & Courier ran the obligatory story about how much one of these visits costs the community. Bill Clinton’s recent visit in support of his wife’s candidacy apparently required about $7,300 in overtime costs by local government.
Let me guess… no comparable comparison was offered about what a Bush visit would have cost (I’m guessing ten times as much would probably be a good guess). Judging from your wife’s coverage, it looks like Clinton’s overall footprint was pretty small.
Did that $7,300 take into account all of the extra business generated by a visit?
Put another way, how much did Amy spend while in Bloomington? (X) How many people were estimated to have driven to down for the event? (Y)
My guess is that X*Y > $7,300…
The event was here in Lafayette. I don’t think she or her friends spent any extra money — they intended to; their plan was get there early, park, and go grab some dinner. But, when they got there, the line was already half way around the block, and they figured they couldn’t leave or else they wouldn’t get in.
Just, for what it’s worth, I don’t think the $7,300 is excessive. Democracy costs a little extra.
Or a better measure would be how much does an average Football/ Mens or Womens basketball game cost? That would be actually a larger even than the former President arriving, especially since they “secured the building” but did NOT SEARCH A SINGLE PERSON OR BAG COMING INTO THE EVENT!