9 ways the White House could spend its $277K calligraphy budget

9 ways the White House could spend its $277K calligraphy budget


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WASHINGTON — What can you do with more than a quarter of a million dollars?

If you're the White House, you can employ three calligraphers for a year. The Weekly Standard reported that the White House keeps three calligraphers on staff, with salaries ranging from $85,953 to $96,725 for the "chief calligrapher."

"With the White House closing its doors to public tour groups in order to save money for the sequester, it's worth remembering some of the other costs the White House incurs annually," Daniel Harper wrote for the Standard. "Despite sequestration, there's been no announcement of the White House scaling back on calligraphers."

The calligraphers come to a total cost of $277,050 per year.

Here are nine other things the White House could do for $277,050, with change to spare.

1. Pay for a World Series parade

9 ways the White House could spend its $277K calligraphy budget

When the San Francisco Giants won their second World Series in three years in October, the city spent $225,000 on a parade. The mayor's office said the costs of the parade were more than offset by the benefits of hosting championship games in San Francisco. The Giants footed the $1 million basic setup costs.

The White House could pay the city's portion of parade expenses, and with the leftover money, keep a middle-class family afloat for a year.

2. Pay the superintendent of Alpine School District for a full year

Alpine School District superintendent Vernon M. Henshaw makes about $272,000 a year. The White House could pay Henshaw and have some money left for a rainy day, leaving those funds for Alpine School District to dedicate elsewhere.

3. Pay the administration costs of the Road Home for six months

The Road Home spent $574,366 in 2011 on administrative costs, or 6.14 percent of its budget. With an extra $277,000, the shelter could raise its funding for emergency assistance by nearly 50 percent.

4. Buy a Cougar Tail for nearly everyone in attendance at a sold out BYU football game

At LaVell Edwards Stadium in Provo, a sell-out crowd is 63,470 attendees. With $277,050, the White House could buy nearly everyone in attendance a Cougar Tail maple bar.

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5. Run the Tooele City Fire Department for a full yearWith the money it spends on calligraphers, the White House could fund the Tooele City Fire Department for a full year, and have money left to pay for the city's street, sidewalk and curb repairs for the year.

The city appropriated $269,874 for its fire department in the 2012–2013 budget. Curb and sidewalk repairs get $4,500.

6. Raise a child

For about a quarter of a million dollars, the White House could raise a child from birth to age 17.

The child would have to be middle class and would cost $234,900 to keep fed, clothed, sheltered and in soccer lessons and the like, based on data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

If the White House wanted to raise an upper-middle or upper-class child, that cost would go up to $389,670. That's what it costs to raise a child in families making more than $100,000 a year.

The cost of raising a child in the U.S. has gone up by 23 percent since 1960.

7. Pay for Kelly Osbourne's manicure

Osbourne's Emmy manicure
Osbourne's Emmy manicure

Osbourne sported a $250,000 manicure at the 2012 Emmys.

The manicure, created by jeweler Azature, consisted of 267 carats of black diamonds.

After some fans got offended, Osbourne responded on Twitter that she saw their point, but "it was a once in a lifetime experience," according to ABC News.

8. Buy toilet paper for every family in Monticello for an entire year

The average family spends $140 on toilet paper per year. With its calligraphy budget, the White House could purchase toilet paper for a year for every family in Monticello, San Juan County, population 1,981.

9. Leave it in a cab for this guy to find:

Las Vegas cab driver Adam Woldemarim was cleaning out the back seat of his van on Sept. 2 when he found a laptop case stuffed with $221,510 in cash. He turned it over to security.

The owner of the cash eventually called the cab company and the cash was returned. He left Woldemarim a $2,000 tip, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

With the remaining $56,000, the White House could start its own cab company.

Top image credit: WUSA 9. Image on the left was produced by a computer.

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Stephanie Grimes

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