My Facebook friends are suddenly concerned about the disruption that occurs when a U.S. President leaves the White House. Street traffic is halted, general aviation is shut down, flight schools have to turn customers away until the President leaves. There are calls for compensation (where were these folks when we suffered through 8 years of Barack Obama vacationing on Martha’s Vineyard (and therefore shutting down non-scheduled aviation in a huge part of New England during a prime season)?).
I’m wondering if a mechanism already exists for this. Suppose that an earthquake or hurricane shut down commerce in a part of the country for a few days or weeks. The President would declare that part of the country a disaster area and cash would flow. A Presidential visit, post 9/11, can be just as disruptive as a natural disaster. Why not have a rule that any time a President visits, the area visited is automatically declared to be a disaster area and thus affected businesses or individuals can apply for compensation?
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