the whining here about religion being included in the inauguration

[MADem]

199. The overtime is paid by the increase in tax revenue--the District usually makes money on these

things.

There are meal taxes, gas taxes, sales taxes, hotel taxes....and all those attendees buy a little this or that and fill the coffers to more than offset any overtime that has to be paid.

Secret Service are salaried--their job is to protect the POTUS no matter where he goes. Cops get overtime, but a regular crew of those guys is expected to work even on holidays (they don't all take off on Xmas, either, for example). Further, they were heavily augmented by military personnel, who would be paid the same each month if they were standing as a live barricade, marching in a parade, or sitting on their ass in front of a tee vee--they don't get an extra dime OR a guaranteed extra day off (if the boss is nice, they might, but that's a personal decision--most would not have had to work on a Monday holiday, save those with "the duty&quot .

It's a popular fiction that the taxpayers are greatly burdened by this event. It's just not true. The taxpayers who paid for this party were the taxpayers who ATTENDED the party. The Congress authorizes money to set up the stage and the sound/video system on the west front and decorate it appropriately, and lay out the seating/standing, but that's pretty much it. All that is done well ahead of time, too, by people who work for the Architect of the Capitol and the NPS. The people getting paid, most of them, would have been paid anyway, and the increase in revenue via taxes on the crowds visiting and staying and buying and eating more than compensates for the additional outlay of overtime funds to pay hourly personnel. The balls are funded via donor contributions and ticket sales.

DC cops don't complain about demonstrations or a massive influx of visitors, and are generally very cheerful when they take place, no matter who is doing the demonstrating or why the folks are visiting. They know that large crowds fund their overtime, so it's a win-win for them.

http://planning.washington.org/planning/travel-professionals/dc-in-a-box/city-fact-sheet
DC welcomes approximately 16 million visitors each year, generating an estimated $5.6 billion in visitor spending for the city alone.