The Cost of the Privatization Tour

I've mentioned before that we taxpayers are footing the bill for Bush's scripted Social Security events. You know, the one people have been kicked out of for having un-Republican bumber stickers on their cars. The one that's supposed to sell America on a plan that 70% of the public doesn't want. The WaPo has done some calculating on how much we're paying for this farce:

"Excluding security and aircraft costs, the White House has estimated that staff costs on presidential trips average between $22,000 and $59,000, the Associated Press has reported. Staff costs for Bush's 16 Social Security events thus would range from $352,000 to $944,000."

Even if you lowball that figure, it comes to more than a million dollars for all sixty events (that's an absolute minimum-- the story suggests several million). What a bargain. Gotta love those 'fiscal conservatives.'