板區橋文化路一段421巷11弄1號 (陽光甜味咖啡館)
當總統的好處
Crazy Perks of Being President
By Andrew Lisa, GOBankingRates
Presidents always have lived well in the White House, which had running water in 1833, central heating in 1837 and an elevator in 1881. The White House was built for $232,272 in the 1790s, according to History.com. The White House Historical Association says the building has 132 rooms.
Contrary to popular belief, there are no secret passages or hidden escapes — none known to the public, at least. However, there is a well-known underground complex that includes a florist and bowling alley.
The General Services Administration is required to furnish former presidents with enough money to cover travel and business expenses. In 2016, Congress presented President Obama legislation that would have capped taxpayer spending on former presidents' office and travel expenses at $200,000 a year. The soon-to-be former president vetoed the bill.
Not only do presidents get cushy offices and free travel, they also receive a presidential pension — they were, after all, government employees. The Former Presidents Act sets into law what ex-presidents receive in compensation. All four living former presidents — Jimmy Carter, George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton and George W. Bush — received annual pensions of $205,700 in 2016.
Every president since Franklin Roosevelt has enjoyed his own retreat of solitude — Camp David. Located deep in Catoctin Mountain Park in Frederick County, Md., the camp serves as the president's country home.
Although it is charming, it's not exactly rustic. Amenities include a full gym, swimming pool, executive board rooms and an aircraft hangar. According to the book "The $1.4 Billion Man: Costs of the Obama White House," every night the president spends at Camp David costs $711,000.
The White House is home to nearly 100 permanent residence staffers. The private army of servants includes maids, cooks, butlers and a head housekeeper. But it doesn't stop there. Among the other permanent staffers on the payroll are full-time plumbers, valets, groundskeepers, engineers and florists.
When you see the president, you might notice intense-looking, hyper-alert men and women with earpieces following behind. That's the Secret Service, the agency tasked with protecting the president — even at the cost of their own lives.
Well-armed, trained and prepared, members of the Secret Service are more than bodyguards. They conduct advance work, threat assessments, countersurveillance and airspace security. Ex-presidents get Secret Service protection for life, and their children are protected until the kids turn 16. The agency's 2016 budget was $2.2 billion.
The White House is home to a full fitness center. The president doesn't have to wander around alone wondering how to work all those exercise machines either. Instead, the job comes with a personal trainer, which President Obama is known to utilize extensively. Information on the current presidential trainer's rate is not available, but according to Angie's List, the average trainer charges between $80 and $125 per hour.
Every president since John F. Kennedy has dined in style thanks to a White House executive chef. In 2005, Cristeta Comerford became the first woman appointed to the position when she was hired by first lady Laura Bush. She still remains at the post after being reappointed by first lady Michelle Obama, who was inspired by Comerford's passion for healthy food.
It is estimated the White House executive chef earns under $100,000 a year, which the CulinarySchools.org website deems to be "surprisingly modest."
Presidents who happen to be movie buffs are in luck: The White House is home to a 42-seat tiered theater where the presidential family and guests can watch movies, sports and television. President Franklin Roosevelt converted the East Terrace cloakroom into a theater so he could watch newsreels from World War II.
城市生活與快樂
Why the Places We Live Make Us Happy
Kaid Benfield
We find that the design and conditions of cities are associated with the happiness of residents in 10 urban areas. Cities that provide easy access to convenient public transportation and to cultural and leisure amenities promote happiness. Cities that are affordable and serve as good places to raise children also have happier residents. We suggest that such places foster the types of social connections that can improve happiness and ultimately enhance the attractiveness of living in the city.
As I noted last June, in the U.S., "the pursuit of Happiness" is listed in the first sentence of our Declaration of Independence, right along life and liberty as an inalienable right of all people. That’s a lofty dose of respect from the founders of our republic. Shouldn’t it get the same respect from those of us in the business of pursuing environmental quality?
Trust me: it doesn’t.
There are a lot of reasons why this is so, but surely one of them is that happiness is viewed by just about everyone outside the mental health field as highly subjective. And it is certainly difficult to measure. The effect of environmental factors on happiness is more difficult still, notwithstanding some intriguing efforts in the country of Bhutan and the cities of Victoria, Seattle, and Bogata. The concept of "healing cities," which I profiled recently, also appears to be on the case, taking a holistic view of health that includes "physical, emotional, mental, social and spiritual needs."
The new academic study, kindly forwarded to me by Kevin Leyden, one of its authors, attempts to approach the subject with scientific rigor. Leyden and his colleagues believe that city attributes do indeed make a difference and that, as a result, "happiness and its pursuit ... is a subject that should be of concern to scholars of urban places and urban policy."
Of course, city aspects are not alone in influencing happiness, and neither Leyden nor I would claim otherwise. Leyden cities a "Big Seven" group of factors recognized by prior research as most substantially affecting adult happiness: wealth and income (especially as perceived in relation to that of others); family relationships; work; community and friends; health; personal freedom and personal values.
The researchers drew from an extensive quality of life survey undertaken by Gallup in 2007 for the government of South Korea. Approximately 1,000 people were surveyed from each of ten cities: New York, London, Paris, Stockholm, Toronto, Milan, Berlin, Seoul, Beijing and Tokyo. Respondents self-reported their overall degree of happiness (measured on a scale of 1 to 5) along with their degree of agreement with a range of statements designed to tease out additional factors.
Leyden’s team examined the findings, looking for statistically significant correlations. They found confirmation of the Big Seven factors, but also variations that could not be explained by the Big Seven. Examining additional findings from prior research along with data from the Gallup study, they concluded that a feeling of connectedness was a key factor in predicting happiness, and posit that the extent to which urban design fosters – rather than inhibits – that feeling may be an important additional determinant of happiness:
Do connections with place affect happiness? Does the design of the city and its neighborhoods and the way those places are maintained have an effect on happiness?
We hypothesize that the way cities and city neighborhoods are designed and maintained can have a significant impact on the happiness of city residents. The key reasons, we suggest, are that places can facilitate human social connections and relationships and because people are often connected to quality places that are cultural and distinctive. City neighborhoods are an important environment that can facilitate social connections and connection with place itself.
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