President Barack Obama is headed to Hawaii for a posh 20-day vacation costing some $4 million to the taxpayers. The First Family will head to Kailua, where they’ll erect barricades to prevent the commoners from interacting with them. But it’s not the cost and inconvenience that Americans should wonder about – it’s the timing. President Obama heads out of town from December 17 to January 6. The fiscal cliff is slated to hit on January 2.
And there’s no sign that President Obama is anywhere close to a deal with Congressional Republicans on averting the fiscal cliff. Which means that as he sips Mai Tais and lounges in the sun, Americans everywhere will be skimping on their Christmas shopping, just in case their taxes skyrocket on January 2.
Is there better use for the vacation money? Sure – one Maryland man has suggested that the Obama family donate that $4 million to victims of Hurricane Sandy. But far more important is that as Obama wastes days gallivanting around the countryside talking to people who are not Speaker John Boehner, his vacation grows ever closer. Once we hit December 17, it will be that much more difficult to distract Obama from his fun in the sun to help regular Americans avoid an enormous economic hit.