The White House remains one of the most recognizable and symbolic buildings in the world. Its tradition and history are unmatched as nearly every American can envision the building. Throughout the ages, the White House has evolved. Its structure has been constantly updated and little attachments made by each president to leave their mark on the building. Like usual, President Donald Trump plans on leaving a more than reasonably sized mark on the building.
Trump is known for his extravagance and opulence. This was confirmed with some of the recent little changes he has made to the White House. Unnecessary gold embellishments to the Oval Office, grandiose medallions on the light fixtures, and a large patio over a historic rose garden. Many people would think that Trump has already done more than enough to leave his mark on the building, but apparently he seems to disagree. Trump started construction on a lavish 90,000 square foot ballroom in the East Wing of the White House. Costs for this project are estimated at more than $300 million.
The White House has already started destruction of the old East Wing, leaving a gaping hole in the symbolic building. The harm to a historic building is, unfortunately, the least of the American people’s problems when it comes to this construction. The Trump administration assures people that the taxpayers will not have the burden of paying for the construction, instead, the funding will come from private and corporate donations who Trump has labeled “Patriot Donors.” This evidently brings ethical questions into consideration.
Mr.Johnson, an economics teacher at West Morris Central, encourages students to ask questions regarding the opportunity cost – or the cost of choosing to spend money on the ballroom over another project – and what some of the tradeoffs may be. “Even though there’s no surface level cost to the government as it’s being paid for by private donors. I think it’s just important for people to think about what that cost would be, because nothing is free from an economics perspective” stated Mr.Johnson.
Many believe that this project is only fitting with the rest of Trump’s presidency. His pattern of spending money on things that matter to him and not the greater American people, is demonstrated time and time again. A senior at West Morris, Owen McCoy, is unsurprised by Trump’s actions but nevertheless disappointed that Trump is putting himself above the rest of the country yet again. “Trump acts very much in his self interest entirely throughout both presidencies. He hasn’t given any consideration to the American people” stated McCoy.
President Trump has continuously prioritized his own costly desires over the needs and demands of the American public. As always, the best way to deal with Trump’s decisions is to raise awareness of its ignorance. Reach out to local representatives and encourage them to do their job, and stick up for the working class.
