Does this bewilder anyone but me?

An article from Yahoo News published on Saturday, January 17, 2009:

"As the recession continues to wreak havoc on the U.S. economy and inauguration celebrations ramp up, a lot of people are asking: "How much will this shindig cost?"

The short answer? More than $150 million — and yep, that's the most expensive ever. (By comparison, George W. Bush's 2005 inauguration cost $42.3 million. Bill Clinton managed with $33 million in 1993.)

For the first time, President Bush has declared an emergency in Washington, D.C. to supplement the $15 million Congress has already allotted for security measures. It's no surprise that security costs are sky-high — Barack Obama received Secret Service protection very early in his presidential run and record crowds (likely anywhere from 1.5 to 3 million people) are expected for the record number of events. In fact, the Secret Service will be in charge of security not just for inauguration day, but for four days, starting Saturday with Obama's train ride from Philadelphia.

Obama's much-discussed (and very cool-looking) custom Cadillac limo certainly couldn't come cheap, though we'll never really know how much it cost. Cadillac spokesman David Caldwell said the car's exact specifications are a big secret, including the safety features and production cost."

Wanna know my opinion on the whole thing? Yes, it's exciting that we're electing our first African-American president, yes, it's great that he's got the support of so many celebrities and so many Americans (myself being one), and I guess this inauguration is a once-in-lifetime thing, but WOW....isn't that a big extravagant? I don't remember there ever being huge concerts and rallies and "inauguration tours" like there have been for this one. I just think that with all of the recession stuff going on and the major economical issues the U.S. is in the middle of, and the fact that we owe pretty much every nation on the planet some money, I think the money could be used in a more sensible fashion. There are supposedly funds set up for all of this, ok, fine.....but it still just seems a little bit crazy to me. Am I wrong in thinking this? A lot of the money is going towards security, but I still can't understand how 150 million dollars can be spent like that over the course of a few days and nothing is thought of it. 150 million is a lot of money. Oh well, I'll never understand why some things are the way they are or how some things can be justified when there is so much stuff going wrong.