Throwback Thursday: Air Force Went All In on Souvenir Playing Cards
In 1987, the U.S. Air Force, likely at the direction of the Executive Office of the President, spent $59,000 – over $156,000 in 2023 dollars – on decks of playing cards that were given away as souvenirs on Air Force Two, the vice president’s plane.
Sen. William Proxmire, a Democrat from Wisconsin, awarded the Air Force his Golden Fleece Award for this silly waste of taxpayers’ dollars.
According to Proxmire, the vice president and his staff were allowed to distribute these fancy playing cards, decked out with the Vice Presidential Seal, to guests on official flights. This practice had been going on for some time, with expenditures for cards dating back 20 years, and costing $59,000 since it started.
These commemorative keepsakes were, “bronzed with the current Vice Presidential Seal, black on gold on the back of all cards, with 'Welcome Aboard Air Force Two' printed in gold on the back of all cards… Jokers to include images of Capitol Building on face, deck in light blue velour case …Vice Presidential seal in gold,” according to a description from the Air Force’s bid request.
These decks cost about $10,000 per year, and that doesn’t include the other fancy souvenirs given away on both Air Force One and Air Force Two.
Frivolous luxury souvenirs for privileged guests shouldn’t be financed on the backs of taxpayers. If the president and vice president want to provide these trinkets for their guests, they could always buy them with their own salary.
As Proxmire humorously notes, “I’ve seen a lot of card tricks, but this one beats them all. This is one case where somebody needs to play a trump card for the taxpayers.”
The #WasteOfTheDay is brought to you by the forensic auditors at OpenTheBooks.com
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