Do we really need a quarter of a million dollars in White House calligraphers?

With the White House closing its doors to public tour groups in order to save money for the sequester, it's worth remembering some of the other costs the White House incurs annually.

Like the "Chief Calligrapher," Patricia A. Blair, who has an annual salary of $96,725, and her two deputies, Debra S. Brown, who gets paid $85,953 per year, and Richard T. Muffler, who gets paid $94,372 every year.

While calligraphy is a neat craft, do we really need to spend this money in tight budgetary times – especially since a computer printer can do the calligraphy as long as there is a single secretary to type in the text?