The High Cost of Protecting The President

Secret Service protection is required for all presidents, which is fine and appropriate.  But do 42 members of the administration and 31 of the presidents family members also require protection?  The cost is always huge, but with the current president higher than ever before.  Here are a couple of figures that may boggle your mind.  Remember, you, the taxpayer, are paying for secret service protection.

Each visit to Mar a Lago costs the taxpayer about $1 million dollars, $6.6 million was spent in the first year.  20% of Trumps time in office has been spent on the golf course.  When he plays golf, secret service follow behind him in a specially configured golf cart that goes 19 miles per hour, much more than a regular golf cart.  Over $60,000 has been spent in golf carts alone!

Secret Service agents make between $160,000-$170,000 per year.  After Trump's first year in office, 1,000 secret service agents had already reached their maximum number of hours.  The White House has requested a $60 million budget increase (on top of what the budget is right now) to cover Trump's protection costs.

Oh, how I long for the days before protection.  I remember Harry Truman driving his wife across country, on their own.  He was also known for sneaking out of the White House and taking solo walks in Washington, D.C.  Certainly our leaders need protection, but there must be some way to rein in the cost.