Mumbai: The US would be spending a whopping $200 million per day on President Barack Obama’s visit to the city.
“The huge amount of around $200 million would be spent on security, stay and other aspects of the Presidential visit,” a top official of the Maharashtra Government privy to the arrangements for the high-profile visit said.
Can someone do the accounting on this fiasco? A trip to India is going to cost over a billion dollars by the time it is over? Are we hosting them in their own country or what? Beers for everyone in India?
So you want to be a Millionaire??
Now John, you can’t put a price on good will. After all in India you’ll need a lot of bribe money. No insult to my Indian friends, but you know the system better than me.
I got the idea! They basically booked most of the airline sets that travel from/to/within India during the duration of the visit to prevent a hijack attack (Similar to booking an entire hotel).
That should account for many many millions a day if you also include first class flights.
this figure is meaningless without a comparison to other trips and other presidents and those costs.
#4 – I beg to differ. $200m is a pretty meaningful figure. It’s a billion dollars for a single trip. If you’re trying to say that other presidents have done the same/worse, that’s fine, but calling it “meaningless” is just spin. Should Obama be spending a billion dollars on a trip, when that billion could go somewhere else? I don’t think so, but I’m sure there are those out there that think he should (probably you, lakelady).
Look at the source for that story. Not entirely credible.
Hey Mr. Obama,
Ever heard of GoToMeeeting ?
Leo Laporte uses it, why can’t you ?
Nice fact checking, JCD.
This number is based on ONE report. ONE. From New Delhi Television, and the right wing echo chamber goes bananas. “$200 million! $200 million!” Says who? Says a television network in India, that’s who.
Maybe JCD was asleep the day they taught “double checking” in journalism school.
[Let’s see I had a question mark at the top of the story. I made it clear that this was ridiculous and asked for an accounting. AND have not heard much in the way of a rebuttal.
I’m not reporting, I’m just the messenger. This is a blog…HELLO dummy. You do know what a blog is, right? a) NOT a newspaper. This is not my story if you didn’t notice. — JCD]
#8 Michael – have you seen any denials from the White House about the accuracy of the number???
How come this wonderful communicator we have as the President is totally speechless when it comes to explaining what he will accomplish with this little junket to India.
I don’t see it as a massive problem.
We in he rest of the world know that the US will simply print some more money — Whats the big deal?
@#8 Other US media have had reports too. Including the reason for such high cost: Obama is bringing along more than 3000(!) people and planes full of “necessary” technology.
Government is out of control. This is what you get when fiscal policy means adding zeros to a number in a computer, and keep doing that whenever the ‘need’ is there. USD 600 billion is coming up according to head printer Barnake, so what is a couple of hundred milling a day for a trip to India… only paper. See the logic?
I have a 5 billion Deutsche Mark bill in my pocked just to remind me how bad this will become – unless some sanity soon seeps into Washington DC.
And it is not only the Chinese that feel screwed. Know what? Contract we make in Asia is indicated in USD but measured agains SDR, Specil Drawing Rights set by the UN. How is that for an undermining of a currency, not by UN but by the industrial-military complex in the US over not the last 8 – 10 years but since Nixon’s infamous 1972 decision. That is when it all started to come apart.
Masses, go educate yourself – otherwise you end up as slaves!
Bullshit.
This is why the Republicans won. People blindly believe clearly false statements. Anything to rationalize hating the black man, how else do you explain it?
http://factcheck.org/2010/11/ask-factcheck-trip-to-mumbai/
[You explain the Republican win by the fact that there are no jobs being created, not because of these stories. Note, the Factcheck.org site said this $200 million is “highly doubtful.” What kind of fact checking is that? — JCD]
I heard he was going over to try to get the Indians to buy more of our dept, which might be why he is spending so much, after all if you are going to get several trillion, you are going to need a little money to grease some palms.
Still this figure does seem kind of high, but you know what it wouldn’t surprise me if it was correct. After all we have to keep our dear leader and all his friends, and friends of those friends, and their staff in the lifestyle they are accustomed to.
#14 Seems to have it.
It’s amazing how the Drudgereport in particular leads the so called respectable media (and Dvorak Uncensored) by the balls.
This money is *required* to avoid a MUMBAI-STYLE ATTACK on the president.
Propagation of a meme, that is all…
Given this President’s severe lack of experience with respect to foreign policy and how weak he makes us look every time he interacts with foreign dignitaries, it is probably better for all us, regardless of financial cost, if he stays at home.
The White house is expected to answer every outrageous lie passed along by the liars who do
jbenson2’s thinking for him?
Matt Lehrich, White House Office of Media Affairs: The numbers reported in this article have no basis in reality. Due to security concerns, we are unable to outline details associated with security procedures and costs, but it’s safe to say these numbers are wildly inflated.
200 million rupees is about 4.1million US dollars
Just a guess.
The white house has the option of correcting the story. They haven’t. The number is 3,000 people for reasons that escape me. The number in and off itself would suggest over 3,000,000 if he was sending them commercial and they were staying at normal hotels. I’m sure these people are all getting paid something. Throw in Airforce one, a fleet of transports, a small army for security and renting a high end hotel in total and yeah I can see it.
I have never heard of any President who blows money like this.
JCD did you forget to link the SB meter on this one?
I was thinking of trying to re-popularize this:
BTW, if the President does not want a Mumbai-style of attack, shouldn’t he stay out of Mumbai?? This trip makes no sense.
Cheap, inaccurate infoporn for the republisheep to masterbate to.
its time to burn this fucking fed down to the ground, death to tyrants
thomas jefferson/ jwb
No doubt about it one big cap and trade junket
Can you imagine such elitists
And they are going to tell you what to – that they know best what is better for you than you know
Have they no shame ?
Guess not
I guess the low costs are why US business are outsourcing to India
Imagine what the costs would be to do a comparable visit in the US
However i guess that is – what the stimulus package was – only its the outsourced lower cost Indian version
Its a bargain no doubt
Fox’s Eric Bolling went for this hook, line, and red wiggler. He should just lay on his back with his ankles behind his ears and pretend he’s in college again.
Well after leaving office, Bill Clinton’s first visit was to India…
This article needs a BS meter.
The $200 million claim is all over the Right Wing Media but it seems to go back to a completely arbitrary claim by an Indian newspaper. That’s as far as I could track it, anyway.