Letters: White House tours

Our federal government spends about $66.5 billion every week. The sequestration cuts have had the unfortunate consequence of ending White House tours, which apparently cost up to $75,000 each week. I'm a pretty simple person and I have a really hard time relating to those really big numbers — too many zeros. I thought if I could make them seem smaller I might get a better grasp on what they mean. I moved the decimal point over to the left six places, which turned the $75,000 into 7.5 cents and the $66.5 billion into $66,500. So as I see it our President can't (won't?) find 7.5 cents in a weekly budget of over $66,000 to keep the White House tours going.

I'm pretty certain that given a weekly budget of over $66,000, even an inexperienced manager could find a way to save 7.5 cents without cutting something as important and visible as these tours. It's obvious that President Obama wants to make cuts that will be the most visible and provide him with the most publicity. Politics continues to be first on his list when making decisions. Leadership, wise management and what's best for our country are far down on that list.

Jan M. Levi

Pleasant Grove