Tax Dollars for Birthday Cake Is Money Well Spent

on November 29, 2011 at 5:35 PM

governor haley cake Stop the madness! Thanks to a politically juicy story, cake is getting a bad name. That's right, cake. The most perfect of all the desserts, the most celebratory food offering, the simple yet fancy, delectable cake. And that's not okay.

It seems South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley's office likes to celebrate the staffers' birthdays by having the governor's executive chef whip up a cake in honor of the birthday boy or girl. The state Democratic party chairman feels this eating of cake during lean times on the government dime is an extravagance and has taken offense. (Side note -- somehow I don't think a male governor would be taking this kind of heat, you know?) As a result, cake is coming under fire and those of us who love cake must step up in its delicious defense.

Cake is not expensive unless you layer it in gold leaf. Which I'm assuming we would know about in this case since over 2,000 emails were sorted through to discover this "scandal." How much are a couple of eggs, flour, sugar, and baking soda? Like, next to nothing. Cake is a simple yet awesome way to honor someone on her birthday. If taxpayer money can be spent on golf trips (and in South Carolina, you know it is), it can certainly be spent on cake.

We're not talking dinner at Morton's, or an expensive bottle of wine -- it's cake! Seriously, it's so no big deal that I would even be willing to chip in for the next staffer's birthday, and I don't even live in South Carolina or vote Republican.

Everybody deserves a little cake on their birthday. Let's back off the governor and her staff and let them eat it.

Don't you think cake is awesome?

Image via Will Clayton/Flickr

About the author April Peveteaux

writes about anything that gets stuck in her craw. A mom of two in Los Angeles, she can't believe she practically lives in the country now after attempting to raise kids in Brooklyn.

Filed Under: birthdays, in the news, parties

Comments (12)

lehoffman

on Nov 29, 2011 at 5:50 PM

Seriously, people should be mad at the governor for HAVING an executive chef, not that the government is paying for a few cakes.

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Nonmember comment from Amanda

on Nov 29, 2011 at 6:18 PM

I basically agree with your point, but if you've paid attention at all to the gourmet cake industry these days, you'd know that while the ingredients are not always expensive, the cakes sure can be! What if we're talking a several hundred dollar cake, every time someone has a birthday in that office. Sure, it's probably still a drop in the bucket compared to the overall budget, but it's more than a cake from Safeway would be.

PonyChaser

on Nov 29, 2011 at 6:41 PM

If most states and the federal government weren't utterly bankrupt and spending our great-grandchildren's allowances, I don't think anyone would care. But right now? Every penny matters.

his88angel

on Nov 29, 2011 at 7:28 PM

i wish she would save that money and put it to our school systems. Its not much money, but any money would help. OUr school systems are terrible. OUr she could at least share some of that cake with me and then we would call it even. lol

fryshannon34

on Nov 29, 2011 at 7:32 PM

I dont really care for cake

RhondaVeggie

on Nov 29, 2011 at 7:48 PM

It's not like they are buying pricey cakes, they're being baked in house. It costs next to nothing and I'll bet it's a great morale boost. I know I'd be more productive in the afternoon if someone was giving me a free slice of cake a lunchtime.

slw123

on Nov 29, 2011 at 9:51 PM

My question is....does the chef get paid the same whether he bakes the cakes or not? Because if he does, then who cares.

tinypossum

on Nov 30, 2011 at 10:18 AM

He can't find something more important than a cake to worry about?

Mama2MonkeyBoys

on Nov 30, 2011 at 10:43 AM

Honestly, I work for a state office, and you would be appalled to know the stupid crap your tax dollars are spent on. Toys and decorations for trainings and office parties, food, cakes, you name it. It's ridiculous. We have about 40 brand-spanking-new office chairs in our warehouse right now, and the employees are sitting on broken office chairs that haven't been replaced in years. Whenever an employee asks for a replacement - they buy a new one. They don't use the ones in the warehouse, for God-only-knows what reason.
Recently, we did a huge cleanout of the warehouse and we THREW AWAY about 20 computers. That were perfectly fine, just a little out of date. Supposedly they may potentially have had confidential information on them...but we couldn't wipe the harddrives? Really??
So...yeah...cake is the least of your worries about stupid government spending. That doesn't make it any less stupid, just want to put things in perspective for you.

on Nov 30, 2011 at 10:44 AM

^Sorry, I meant whenever they deign to replace an employee's chair. Which doesn't happen often, despite the 40 we have in the warehouse that we aren't allowed to touch.