That does not seem right, not at all.
I can't believe that Laura would have had that large of a staff.
That does not seem right, not at all. I can't believe that Laura would have had that large of a staff.
I don't be begrudge some staff support for the First Lady, as there is a civic function to the position even if there is no govermental role. I'm sure there are hundreds of grade school classes that write to the First Lady each year and expectt a response. I'm sure there are dozens of visitors to the White House each day that expect a thank you note. I'm sure that she has enough appointments and calls she needs someone to answer her phone and someone to keep her calendar. She probably needs a researcher to tell her that Prime Minister of Slovenia's wife loves dogs but hates cats.
The question is what is enough? Growing from a payroll of $1.28M to a payroll of $1.495M is a 17% increase at a time when a lot of Americans are hurting. This is just a tiny microcosm of our current approach to governement. The scale, complexity and grandiosity of each department of our government only increases, usually at rates much faster than the economy that sustains it.
At some point, we're going to have to say enough and start shrinking the size of government offices instead of growing them. Maybe elementary school classes get a polite form letter instead of a customized respone written by a staffer. Maybe visitors to the White House get only a thank you card instead of a signed 8x10 photo of the first couple. Maybe one staffer can handle both the telephone and the calendar. Maybe someone from the State department briefs her on any special situations with foreign dignitaries instead of having her own researcher.
It's not going to happen with the current occupants of the White House, but sometime soon we need leaders who are frugal instead of grandiose.