[url=http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25419761/]Buckingham Palace: Royal family a bargain Accountants say monarchy cost each subject less than $2 last year[/url]
LONDON - Buckingham Palace accountants insisted Friday that the cost of maintaining Queen Elizabeth II and the royal family is a bargain for taxpayers, despite a price tag of $80 million, while a prominent anti-monarchist group said many of the true costs are hidden.
The Republic group also complained that the queen and her husband, Prince Philip, spent more than $44,000 of public money to take a helicopter to the Kentucky Derby during a prolonged official visit to the United States.
"She took a day off and went to the horse races and it cost the taxpayers a lot of money," said Republic spokesman Graham Smith. "We're going to raise serious questions about that. Why are we paying for a day at the races?"
Why indeed?
_________________

"Behind every great fortune lies a great crime." Honore de Balzac
"Democrats work to help people who need help. That other party, they work for people who don't need help. That's all there is to it." ~Harry S. Truman
|