"'Everything's happening in Washington right now..." - Corruption?

[WhiskeyGirl]

But then, Moore said, an adviser pointed out that lots of decisions affecting Elkhart were being made far away from the City with a Heart.

"A little advice came along and I clued into it," he said. "'Everything's happening in Washington right now. This might be a good time for you to go.'"

The mayor and three of his staff spent much of last week in Washington, attending the three-day U.S. Conference of Mayors winter meeting...

Why does every American, present and future, get to pay for all the things happening in Washington?  Why shouldn't communities dig into their own pockets for revenue?

What about all the mayors from little communities that didn't get to attend?

Money and temporary prosperity for the fortunate 200?

http://www.etruth.com/Know/News/Story.aspx?id=503847&fcid=Know-NEW/UPDATED

Who's going to pay back all this money?

Why aren't communities paying their own way?  Why aren't they digging into their own pockets?  Taxing their own citizens?