Why Don’t We Auction Off Ambassadorships?
Diplomatic skills don’t seem to matter (the choice jobs go to people who fundraise for the president’s election) and wouldn’t it be better if their money went to the Treasury instead of expensive parties? This is from Business Week via Ezra Klein:
The funds embassies receive from the U.S. Department of State don’t begin to cover the high costs of the frequent parties and dinners ambassadors are expected to host. Some wind up paying more than $1 million a year out of their own pockets, according to one of the president’s top donors who requested anonymity because he didn’t want to discuss private conversations.
I suppose as a citizen I wish they worked harder and “played” less. Maybe the nature of their business gets done at these parties.
I attended a reception at the Chinese Embassy in Washington once. From the outside the embassy looks like a 1960s-era high school from any middle-America town. On the inside it resembles a bad Chinese buffet restaurant. The food (a Chinese buffet) was OK but not great. I suspect they had a local Chinese restaurant cater the event. I’ve also attended a reception at the Swedish Embassy. It was austere-looking brand new building with that sensible-but-drab minimalist Scandinavian décor’. The lobby had examples of Swedish industry on display. As I recall, there was a Volvo industrial engine on an engine stand.
The group I was with didn’t know the ambassador – we (presumably) paid for the reception as a draw for the conference I attended. I wonder if the revenue earned from hosting events for outside groups at the American Embassy can be used to offset the costs of hosting events for important dignitaries.
“Spending taxpayer dollars on garden parties has ‘always been a sore point for people who misunderstand that this is work, it’s not play,’ says Susan Johnson, AFSA’s current president.”
Garden parties are work guys!
No wonder Hillary is in so much trouble. How can you get people to fundraise for you if you can’t guarantee an ambassador’s safety once they’ve bought their position?
^OUCH
I completely understand that ambassadors must host parties and “wine and dine” other foreign nationals, but I wish that the State Department could generate more revenue from these ventures. Perhaps sell tickets to the evenings to the general public?
I’ve heard that North Korean diplomats are required to raise their own salaries through drug smuggling and other illegal activities. I wonder if that might not be an option?