TBT: The Brutal Truth

Washington, D.C., officials are reportedly upset that the federal government has told them to use grants from the Department of Homeland Security to pay costs connected with the inaugural. Much of these funds will be used for an unprecedented level of security measures to be used against demonstrators coming to the inaugural to protest Bush administration policies. [See “Massive police presence for Bush inauguration”] It is estimated that this “celebration of democracy” in the nation’s capital will cost the cash-strapped District of Columbia about $17.3 million in overtime and other costs.

Washington is one of the most economically polarized urban areas in the US. Within a stone’s throw of the inaugural festivities, many city residents live in destitution: in the decade from 1990 to 2000, the number of District residents living in extreme poverty more than tripled, rising from 20,600 in 1990 to 66,000 in 2000.