Politics is Big Business
Tip It!In case you’re still not convinced that politics is big business, check this out…
Hillary Clinton spent $212 million to secure her 18 million votes. That’s nearly $12 per vote. Alternatively, that’s nearly $109,823 apiece for her 1,926 delegates.
So… What else could this amount of money buy?
According to an article in the NY Daily News, here’s what Hillary could’ve done with that money in the context of her key issues…
Family values: She could’ve… Sent more than 76,000 New York families to Disney Land.
Energy policy: She could’ve… Bought 9,838 people a new hybrid Toyota Prius, or given out 70.7 million energy-efficient light bulbs.
Gas prices: She could’ve… Handed out nearly 53 million gallons of free gas.
Health care: She could’ve… Paid for 705 artificial heart surgeries, or (presuming an average price of $20) bought flu vaccines for 10.6 million people.
Women’s issues: She could’ve… Bought all 2,300 students at Wellesley College (her alma mate) a Porsche 911 Carrera.
The economy: She could’ve… “Invested” the $11 million she gave to her campaign by buying everyone in NYC a Mega Millions ticket.
Or, if she wanted to thank her home state voters, she could’ve taken all NY state residents to a movie (though there wouldn’t be much left for refreshments).
I don’t intend to disparage Clinton in particular by publishing this list. Rather, I just wanted to point out the scale of political spending in our country.
Published on June 11th, 2008 - 10 Comments
Filed under: Miscellany
About the author: Nickel is the founder and editor-in-chief of this site. He's a thirty-something family man who has been writing about personal finance since 2005, and guess what? He's on Twitter!
Related articles...
» Debt Reduction on a Grand Scale» Keeping Your Business and Home Life Separate
» Budget Cuts, Fireworks, and the 4th of July
» Another Stimulus Check? Second Time is the Charm
» Applying for a Business Credit Card
» Porkbarrel Spending and the Economic Bailout
» Cash for Clunkers Program Suspended
» The Buffett Tax: Re-Defining the AMT?
Was this article useful? Please sign up to receive our content via e-mail:
10 Responses to “Politics is Big Business”
Leave a Reply
Top Cards by Category
Earn $200 Bonus Cash Back after you make $500 in purchases in your first 3 months. 5% Cash Back on up to $1,500 spent in bonus categories each quarter.
Earn up to 20,000 bonus miles with your first purchase 10,000 of which count as Medallion(R) Qualification Miles. Earn up to 5,000 bonus miles when you add two additional cards to your account with initial application.
Earn 3X points on airfare, 2X points on gas and groceries, and 1X points on everything else.
Earn up to 5% cash back* in categories that change and enjoy a 0% introductory rate for 15 months on Balance Transfers and 15 months on Purchases.
Enjoy no balance transfer fee for a limited time. 0% introductory rate on Balance Transfers and Purchases. Earn up to 5% Cashback Bonus in categories that change like gas, restaurants, department stores and more. Limitations apply*
Enjoy no balance transfer fee for a limited time. 0% introductory rate on Balance Transfers and Purchases. Earn up to 5% Cashback Bonus in categories that change like gas, restaurants, department stores and more. Limitations apply*
Enjoy amenities for you and your business, like: complimentary airport club access, including American Airlines Admirals Club(R) lounges.
5% Cashback Bonus in categories that change like gas, restaurants, department stores and more. Limitations apply*. Up to 1% unlimited Cashback Bonus on everything else. No annual fee
Earn 3X points on airfare, 2X points on gas and groceries, and 1X points on everything else.
Reports to 3 major credit bureaus monthly and acceptance at millions of locations worldwide, including website purchases and reservations.
- How to Become a Millionaire
- How to Get Out of Debt
- The Best Dollars I've Ever Spent
- How Our Estate Plan is Structured
- How We Paid Our Mortgage In Less than 10 Years
- Money Making Ideas
- How to Manage Your Asset Allocation with Multiple Accounts
- Consumption Smoothing - Save While the Saving's Good
- How to Save on Groceries
- How Much Life Insurance Do You Need?
- Eleven Great Books About Money
- Dave Ramsey is Bad at Math
- Dish Network Customer Service SUCKS
- $8,000 Homebuyer Tax Credit
- Pay Off Mortgage Early or Invest?
- How to Claim the First-Time Homebuyer Tax Credit
- Reduced Credit Limits? Share Your Experience
- $15,000 Homebuyer Tax Credit
- Ethanol Blended Gas = Lower Mileage?
- Termite Control: Sentricon vs. Termidor
- How Much Should You Pay a Babysitter?
- Federal Income Tax Rates Went Down but Your Federal Tax Withholding Increased. Here's Why...
- Would the "Fair Tax" Gut the Economy?
How to save money on insurance
- Double-Check Your Ally CDs
- Stocks are Not Bonds, CDs, or Savings Accounts
- The Best Values in Colleges - 2012 Edition
- Five Myths About Renter's Insurance
- Own Your Investments, Rent Your Fun
- Citibank to Issue Credit Cards in China
- Heartstrings and Pursestrings
- Saving Money at the Grocery Store: Store Brand Pricing on the Rise
- Missing Tax Paperwork?
- Is Your Investment Allocation Right?
June 11th, 2008 at 9:05 am
You should add the spending of Obama, McCain, etc etc etc to the total and see what we could have done to our national debt, improving schools, taking care of wounded veterans, etc. Heck, it might of even paid for the (IMHO ridiculously stupid) economic stimulus checks.
June 11th, 2008 at 3:08 pm
With all the money spent by the candidates, do you think the economy is in bad shape? I suppose that most of that money was from large corporations and the very rich, and not the common ordinary person.
June 11th, 2008 at 5:02 pm
Enough already. It is time we have campaign finance reform.
June 12th, 2008 at 6:56 am
It is amazing how much is spent, and yet I’m not sure that campaign finance reform is the way to go, Cabby. I mean, look at how broken the system is now– where whole television networks can ignore some candidates (Fox News and Ron Paul), can pretend that there’s only two political parties (what about the Libertarian, Constitution, etc. party candidates), etc.
There has to be some money for these people to go out and meet the voters. Now, changing how television works might be an option– opening up the debates to all the candidates, providing a weekly platform to get the message out, etc. Eliminating all commercials, or giving all equal time might help– and the Internet has done a lot to equalize this playing field.
I just don’t think I want the media and the government telling me who the candidates are and how much money a candidate can spend. I see that as a path to ensuring votes like those joke votes for Sadaam before Iraq was toppled.
I mean, look at the gerrymandering states do now to make sure the incumbents win. Congress has no incentive to do anything but help itself.
June 12th, 2008 at 12:33 pm
Gee, Obama outspent Hillary 4 to 1. Why are there no lists about him. Honestly, it is very telling that Hillary always is singled out for this stuff. As offended as I am at the Rampant spending to get a job that pays $300,000 a year. This blantant dig at Hillary yet again really offends me. Its all about perception.
June 12th, 2008 at 12:41 pm
Michele: Not sure where you’re getting your numbers, but according to this report, Obama’s spending is on par with Clinton’s through the month of April (May numbers will be out in about a week). Yes, he raised a lot more money than her, but it sure doesn’t look like he’s been outspending her 4-1.
Bottom line: She lost, so people are dumping on her. That’s the way it works. The same sorts of articles would be getting written about Obama if he had lost.
June 14th, 2008 at 11:00 pm
That is ridiculous. That is crazy. I could help charity, buy a bunch of cars and houses, clean up a dozen people credit and finance 401Ks.
See that is why it is beyond anyone means if they want to run for office. Most of the people are flithy rich. The founding father would turn in their graves over the amount that is spent. I wonder what George Washington had in his Presidential war chest??
June 15th, 2008 at 2:20 pm
What a great article. I’m linking to this in my next round of link love. It really puts all this foolishness into perspective
June 16th, 2008 at 6:15 pm
@Jamillah
$0
It was considered ungentleman-like to campaign for a public office.
July 11th, 2008 at 5:46 pm
Wellesley College tuition is $43,288 a year. She could have paid for 4,897 first year scholarships.
I thought the examples for Family Values, Womens Issues and the Economy were pretty weak.
I would be interested in seeing how this number has changed since JFK was president, adjusted for inflation of course