Chelsea Clinton got married yesterday. I have nothing against marriage or weddings, they provide a time for a couple to celebrate with family and friends and can be very beautiful and joyous occasions. My issue with this event is that Chelsea Clinton's wedding to banker Mark Mezvinsky cost $3,000,000 with an estimated addition of $2,000,000 in secret service and other security for her father and former politically leaders in attendance.

Paul Craig Roberts writes about the cost of celebrity weddings, the Obama administration's war spending, and the amount of people who do not have enough money to eat healthily in this country on counterpunch.com here: http://www.counterpunch.org/roberts07302010.html

The article was the catalyst for my post today. Roberts questions where Clinton (Bill that is) was able to make $3,000,000 to pay for his daughters wedding. He also asks how Tony Blair started receiving an annual income of 10 million pounds (about $15 million dollars) as soon as he left office. Roberts does not answer these questions merely speculates as to why citizens of the United States remain acquiescent while our leaders spend money on war instead of services to help the poor, when they probably never have and from the looks of it never will have to worry about whether or not they will have enough money to eat or even worry about having enough to eat well.

I am sure there are many a non-profits out there that could run for years or even decades on $3,000,000! In fact, I know there are. These organizations are working to feed hungry people, provide programming for youth, reduce violence in our cities, improve communication, better our communities and more. The extravagance of people who have $3,000,000 to spend on one day is appalling to me. Roberts titles his article, "Let Them Eat Cake" a quote attributed to a French princess who asked why people don't just eat cake if they have no bread. She had no idea of their circumstance and it seems that we are in similar circumstances today, although I find it hard to believe that a Stanford educated daughter of a former president can really be oblivious of the concerns of the poor, unless it is by choice.

And if it is a choice, we do not require of our celebrities to make better choices. The media covers events like Chelsea Clinton's wedding. The population of the United States know that this amount of money is being spent for one couple's special day. Why aren't we asking why? Why aren't we asking who is paying our former political leaders, who is paying our current political leaders, and whose interest those we elect into office are actually acting on. It doesn't look to me like they have anyone's interest in mind but their own. It is not ok, but until we insist that it changes, it never will.