FOR $US100,000, donors will receive a package of tickets that include a candlelight reception at the posh National Building Museum.
For $US250,000, there's a star-studded children's concert.
And for $US1 million, there are reserved seats for a parade.
The gift list at Neiman Marcus? Hardly. It's the price list for some of the star-studded events of the 57th inauguration celebration, five days of brunches and balls, concerts and receptions that will kick off Thursday.
It's all built around the inauguration of President Barack Obama for a second term next Monday.
The taxpayers will pick up the tab - as they do every four years - for the official swearing-in ceremony on the steps of the Capitol, a luncheon with congress and extra security.
The rest comes from contributions. Obama supporters - individuals and corporations - are helping to raise the millions of dollars, sometimes in ways that alarm government-watchdog groups.
It's not all for and by the wealthy. Donations are being supplemented by sales of souvenirs: $US5 buttons, $US150 cufflinks. But they also include $US7500 medallion sets featuring the likenesses of Obama and Vice President Joe Biden.
And the nearly 1000 donors identified so far include well-connected companies and individuals who have done business with the Obama administration, attended White House functions or backed the president in his re-election bid last year, according to an incomplete list of contributors released by the Presidential Inaugural Committee.
Donors include Centene Corp, a health care company that will benefit from the Affordable Care Act; Financial Innovations, a company that sold promotional merchandise to the campaign; and Irwin Jacobs, a founder of tech giant Qualcomm, who gave millions of dollars to an independent group that supported Obama last year.
"The American people have a right to expect something other than an inauguration brought to them by AT&T," said Robert Weissman, the president of Public Citizen, which had called on Obama to refuse corporate funding for the inauguration.
"Every corporation's donations create a conflict of interest, because they all have business before the government in one way or the other."
The Presidential Inaugural Committee spent $US53 million for the 2009 festivities, when a record 1.8 million people filled the National Mall to see the nation's first black president take the oath of office. Fewer than half that are expected for a scaled-down celebration this year, which will bring down the cost, though organisers have released no estimate.
Four years ago, Obama refused to take money from corporations and he limited contributions to $US50,000, pledging to change business as usual in Washington.
This year, he scrapped the limits on companies and dollars, though he still is declining money from lobbyists, political action committees, foreign corporations and entities that benefited from government bailouts. There also won't be any sponsorships, so don't expect to see signs for the AT&T parade or Microsoft brunch.
Donations of $US10,000 to $US1 million are being rewarded with packages named after the founding fathers - Madison, Jefferson, Adams and Washington - that include access to exclusive events, some with the president and first lady Michelle Obama.
Anda sedang membaca artikel tentang
Obama staff sell seats at inauguration
Dengan url
http://mesinjahitan.blogspot.com/2013/01/obama-staff-sell-seats-at-inauguration.html
Anda boleh menyebar luaskannya atau mengcopy paste-nya
Obama staff sell seats at inauguration
namun jangan lupa untuk meletakkan link
Obama staff sell seats at inauguration
sebagai sumbernya
0 komentar:
Posting Komentar