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Michelle Obama Speech: CA Town Expects $1.1 Million Windfall
First Lady Michelle Obama's Saturday commencement address at the University of California, Merced, will trigger an estimated $1.1 million in business for the hard pressed area."Obviously, it's a welcome windfall," Merced Development Manager Frank Quintero told DailyFlotus at PoliticsDaily.com after tallying up the dollar impact of Mrs. Obama's visit. Mrs. Obama's daytrip is an anticipated bonanza for hotels, restaurants, gas stations and retail establishments. A local carwash is getting extra cash detailing three cars expected to be used in Mrs. Obama's motorcade.
Quintero said merchants are being told to be stocked and staffed with some 25,000 folks expected to flood the community.
The city of Merced is organizing a street fair and festival to take advantage of the overflow crowd _ families and friends of graduates not lucky enough to get a ticket to hear Mrs. Obama speak. Large screen televisions will be set up in downtown Merced to beam Mrs. Obama's speech live.
"Mrs. Obama is going to be putting UC Merced on the national landscape, so we are putting on our best for her, too," said City of Merced spokesman Mike Conway.
The First Lady is a very welcome one woman stimulus. The central California city _ population 80,608 _ has been hard hit by the economic meltdown. "We have been ground zero for foreclosure loans going bad and unemployment," Quintero said.
UC Merced spokesman Tonya Luiz said that before Mrs. Obama agreed to speak at graduation ceremonies, between 2,000 to 2,500 guests of 500 graduates were expected. After Mrs. Obama was persuaded by a group of students to keynote the commencement, the school opened the event to the public and now up to 12,000 will attend.
"When else would the average person in Merced, California see or hear the First Lady?" Luiz said.
The UC Merced campus opened in Fall, 2005 and Saturday's graduation marks the first for students who started there as freshmen. Mrs. Obama's visit "is our biggest event ever," Luiz said.
The university budget for the graduation has swelled from $100,000 to $700,000 because of the costs of preparing for the large crowd Mrs. Obama will draw. The commencement moved from the campus quad to an area called "the bowl," quickly being transformed into an amphitheater for the graduation.
So far, UC Merced has lined up some corporate sponsors to help foot the bills; the school has only raised about $130,000 to date.
Luiz said she is not worried about the tab.
Said Luiz, "We don't have to pay all the bills the day of the event. This is not quite like a wedding."
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Lynn Sweet
Lynn Sweet is a columnist at PoliticsDaily.com and writes the Daily FLOTUS blog on Michelle Obama. She is also Washington Bureau Chief of the Chicago Sun-Times.... moreRelated Articles
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Comments (65)
Becky
5:14PM May 12th 2009
This sounds pretty excessive to me, so much for cutting back in this economy. $700,000.00 for a graduating class of 500. My opinion for a hard hit city in California is, you should be cutting back on expenditures of this type if your having economic hardtimes. Sounds like you have the joined the "Government Way of Thinking" Spend Spend Spend
RATE THIS COMMENT:
(6)
(6) 
DOUG
5:24PM May 12th 2009
Typical idiot, you must spend to make money!!!!
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(2)
(2) musikfanat
5:40PM May 12th 2009
Not taxpayer money. It would be "free enterprise" at work. Why do you want to deny this small town from prospering?
RATE THIS COMMENT: (5)
(5) Mark
5:42PM May 12th 2009
Spend $700,000.00 to make $1.1 million. You'd have to be dumb not to do it.
RATE THIS COMMENT: (6)
(6) Nailer Taylor
7:49PM May 12th 2009
I agree with you although the taxpayer isn't on the hook for the cost of all of this they surley are on the hook for the flight out to CA, all of the secret service agents, hotel if she stays the night, food for all of the above, and all of the rest of the stuff she does while in CA. The amount that the city will take in is just a guess at best. I really doubt that the people who come to hear her talk will be shopping and staying in town for more then 4 to 5 hours. I guess it's like the budget. They will jack it way up then in three years they will cut the military budget to reduce the budget down to half that then call it a reduction to win votes with all that savings.
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(-3)
(-3) Sefard
8:56PM May 12th 2009
Did you read the same article that was posted that I read? I don't recall reading about tax dollars being used. This is the college's budget and they are spending their budget. Did you miss that part about corporate sponsors?
Seems that the city is organizing street fairs and other events to ride on the coat tails of the college's graduation. Good for them to take advantage of the event. I guess when we talk about small businesses getting some chance to profit someone has to moan and groan.
This is the First Lady and deserves our respect. I'm sure some of you would not be making these comments if it was Laura Bush. Besides folks, if you can't say something without being racist, homophobic or crude then don't comment. It just distracts from the topic and it only reflects as to who you are as a person.
I'm thrilled for the city and their ability to profit from the graduation of 500 and what an honor to the 500 graduates to get First Lady Obama as their speaker.
Seems that the city is organizing street fairs and other events to ride on the coat tails of the college's graduation. Good for them to take advantage of the event. I guess when we talk about small businesses getting some chance to profit someone has to moan and groan.
This is the First Lady and deserves our respect. I'm sure some of you would not be making these comments if it was Laura Bush. Besides folks, if you can't say something without being racist, homophobic or crude then don't comment. It just distracts from the topic and it only reflects as to who you are as a person.
I'm thrilled for the city and their ability to profit from the graduation of 500 and what an honor to the 500 graduates to get First Lady Obama as their speaker.
RATE THIS COMMENT: (1)
(1) luckysunday22
5:16PM May 12th 2009
Isn't that nice. All of our tax dollars from all accross the country are going to fund some town in CA. Some small town that would never generate that much tax revenue is being granted other states monies to fix their infrastructure. Why, it's almost like the states have no rights at all anymore.
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(4) Greg
5:33PM May 12th 2009
Pay attention, idiot. The $700,000.00 has nothing to do with tax money. Try reading the article before you post.
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(4) musikfanat
5:35PM May 12th 2009
You're a traitor. Why do you want to deny this small town's chance to prosper? You sound very un-American, to me!
You talk about states rights-sounds like code for a KKK type of organization...
You talk about states rights-sounds like code for a KKK type of organization...
RATE THIS COMMENT: (-3)
(-3) j2202208
6:46PM May 12th 2009
The school has only generated $130,000 of the $700,000 needed to host the aunt esther look and sound alike.... sounds like another major boondoggle by the soros puppet administration.... hey maybe they can get George Soros to pay the difference..... he cleared more than $3,000,000,000 in profit when his puppet gave him Indymac bank in the land of fruits and nuts.... he can easily afford to pay the additional $570,000 more they need! Besides, his puppet in the oval office will find a way to screw the taxpayers to pay him back double!
RATE THIS COMMENT: (2)
(2) skiapp
5:21PM May 12th 2009
i live in a small town which has lost most of its industry and now the college is closing its daycare which houses 63 children....and some w ith disabilities.... boy could we ever use money like that to open a center to place these children
RATE THIS COMMENT: (8)
(8) Amy
5:27PM May 12th 2009
I can't believe the morons that post here. They had to spend money to accomodate the extra people that are coming to the graduation. They are excited about the money this is going to generate for their town, the businesses, the people. Sometimes I can't believe the crap that comes out of people's minds.
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(8) dreamsandkeys
5:35PM May 12th 2009
I have a thought,...why not give the "PEOPLE" back their tax money and then they would be able to pay their bills. WOW!! What a conceipt! Send every tax payer a HUGE CHECK so they can pay off their bills. This money could only be used for loan pay offs. Then everyone would be happy! Even if Joe did not pay in as much tax as his Fellow American,.. go ahead and let Joe have the same opportunity to pay off his bills. Hey,...that kinda sounds like "SPREADING THE WEALTH" The banks would get their money because debts would have to be paid with the money. This way the banks are not using our taxs dollars for trips and bonuses and then double dippin and taking even more money from us tax payers. Why,.. because the money would be growing through the tax payers to the banks!!!!!
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(0)
(0) musikfanat
5:38PM May 12th 2009
Your argument is so full of holes and is very illogical. You are not as clever as you think you are...
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(0) dreamsandkeys
5:46PM May 12th 2009
Oh yeah,...like given our money to the banks was not full of holes. But I'm just stating my opinion,...we all know that Musikfanat has all the right answers.
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(-3) Martin
5:46PM May 12th 2009
Try to get over yourself. The election is over. YOU LOST!!! If you don't like it, move somewhere far away as I cannot imagine anyone missing you.
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(0) Mike
5:50PM May 12th 2009
Wow! What hole did you crawl out of?
RATE THIS COMMENT: (1)
(1) Tony
5:53PM May 12th 2009
Is your brain so tiny that you can't even stay on topic? You must have grown up too poor (to pay attention, that is). Why don't you take your hate to a place where someone cares. Oh, that's right, noone cares for that cr@p.
RATE THIS COMMENT: (2)
(2) dreamsandkeys
6:01PM May 12th 2009
I love my country, I care about where we are and where we are going as a country. I just don't think that giving tax payers money to all these banks is the answer to american people not having food, health care, jobs or homes. Who has the right answers? Not talk,....but answers!
RATE THIS COMMENT: (2)
(2) ndhtjlend
6:10PM May 12th 2009
Thank you. Despite the other posts, you reflect the vast majority in this country, save the hippies, homo's and far libs.
RATE THIS COMMENT: (-8)
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