$92 million could have big impact

However, a parade seems like an unnecessary expenditure

What would you do with $92 million? The possibilities seem endless. One could give $1 million to 92 domestic violence shelters across America, or to 92 clinics that service veterans.

One could give $1 million to 92 struggling school districts, or to 92 communities in need of afterschool programs to help keep kids off the streets.

Imagine the impact $1 million would have on a food bank in a community struggling with food insecurity, and then multiply that impact out across 92 individual communities. Those are the kind of dollars that can truly make a difference.

I am a little perplexed, however, at the thought of spending $92 million in federal money on a parade in Washington on Veterans Day. The military parade was ordered by President Trump, inspired by a similar parade that he saw in France on Bastille Day.

The costs were originally estimated to be somewhere around $12 million, but the price tag this week ballooned to $92 million, according to a report by the Associated Press. That’s an increase of 666 percent.

Thursday night, after reports of the larger price tag surfaced, the Defense Department announced that it would delay the parade until 2019. The higher costs were in part due to an estimated $50 million to cover the Pentagon’s costs for equipment, personnel and other expenses, while the rest of the costs would stem from other agencies, such as security costs.

Communities across America have lovely tributes to our nation’s veterans on Veterans Day, and many of them include parades. Yuma’s parade is organized by the American Legion Post 19, and it’s a beloved tradition here.

The president was hoping for something on a grand scale, and he noted that the Bastille Day parade lasted a full two hours. That’s quite the parade, and I’m guessing it would have been a sight to behold.

But a $92 million spent on a parade? That simply sounds excessive.