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To get the ball rolling, we are giving away a free tee shirt to those who make legitimate and substantial contributions to our hunt for White House expenses! As soon as you have posted, the administrators will review your entry and then send you an email asking you to select your free tee shirt. This offer applies to posting of new content, but not to posting articles to the In the News section.

Phase One: The Total Cost of the Whole White House

As the federal government’s activities varied and broad, the first section of the Federal Budget we are focusing on is the Total Cost of the Whole White House. This is a tiny portion of the federal budget, but it's an important symbolic starting point. In a democracy, accountability should include everyone – even the president.

This includes 23 different categories:
_{(These categories are based on the research of the Bush White House by long time White house administrator and scholar Bradley Patterson. Read more about his work)}

• Compensation of the President
• The Executive Residence Operating Expenses
• The Executive Residence Repair and Restoration
• The Vice President's Downtown Office
• Residence of the Vice President Operating Expenses
• The White House Office
• Office of Policy Development
• National Security Council
• One-eighth of the Office of Administration
• The President's Unanticipated Needs
• White House Center Service Delivery Team
• U.S. Postal Service, White House Branch
• National Archives Professional Support of the White House
• Value of gifts supplied by the Department of State
• White House Communications Agency
• Air Force One
• Helicopter Squadron HMX-One
• Camp David
• Salary Costs for the White House Communications Agency, Air Force One, HMX-One, and Camp David
• U.S. Secret Service
• Commission of the White House Fellowships
• National Park Service White House Liaison Office
• Cost of Detailees (who work for more than 6 months in a calendar year)

This site is not about ideology – various contributors may favor or oppose individual government programs.

We are about facts and numbers; where dollars are actually going.

The US government and others provide excellent general information at a high level about government spending, but we're going to go in to much more detail. (For big picture information or general overviews, visit the government sites at usaspending.gov and recovery.gov)

Think of this wiki as a treasure hunt; it's our treasure, and we're on the hunt to find out how it's actually being used.

• -America’s Bad King
  

  November 5, 2012 With Obama, an institution ripe for abuse was met by a president willing to push its boundaries. Read more at Too Conservative

• -New Book Reveals Lavish, $1.4 BILLION Lifestyle of Obama Family
  

  November 2, 2012 Attitude Media Study Says Spending Far Outstrips British Royal Family Read more at White House Expenses.com

• -Obama's 48-hour Campaign "Extravaganza" On Air Force One
  

  October 26, 2012 Battleground-state blitz concludes with dramatic arrival of Air Force One for Obama’s final stump speech of his self-described travel “extravaganza.” Read more at ABC News

• -Spending on White House dinners soars under Obama
  

  October 26, 2012 "It just kind of takes your breath away to see the expenditure of money that has occurred since 2009 ..." Read more at The Washington Examiner

• -Obama Trip to Jay Leno Show to Cost Taxpayers Over $1M
  

  October 24, 2012 President Obama is about to make the third visit of his presidency to the Jay Leno show, and according to a newly released book, it will cost US taxpayers over $1 million. Read more at White House Expenses.com

• -New Study Says Obama Marginal Tax Rate Less Than 1%
  

  October 23, 2012 The Obamas pay less than 1% in taxes when their income is calculated to include what would be taxable benefits for other citizens. Read more at White House Expenses.com

• -Who Pays a Higher Tax Rate, Obama or Romney?
  

  October 16, 2012 The Obamas pay less than 1% in taxes when their income is calculated to include what would be taxable benefits for other citizens. Read more at White House Expenses.com

• -Is the U.S. President Worth $1.4 Billion a Year?
  

  October 15, 2012 The nation is broke because of greed and entitlements. And those entitlements seem to abound in the office of the President. Read more at Godfather Politics

• -Jack Abramoff: "This is something that every voter needs to learn about"
  

  October 15, 2012 Radio host says The 1.4 Billion Dollar Man is "an astonishing set of information." Read more at White House Expenses.com

• -John F. Groom Discusses The 1.4 Billion Dollar Man on "Through The Mirror" Radio Show
  

  October 11, 2012 Host Kevin DuJan called The 1.4 Billion Dollar Man “one of the most detailed and well-researched books that I have read in quite some time” yesterday during his one-hour radio interview with author John F. Groom. Read more at White House Expenses.com

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