your daily moment of bogglement

[electricland]

These figures on election spending gave me pause.

For roughly the same amount of money, about $20 $40 million, you can finance two four Senate campaigns in the United States... or an entire party's campaign, 308 candidates in total, in Canada.

(First link via shetterly. Actually the information on campaign spending is kind of an aside, it's got lots of interesting information on inequality and how wealth buys political clout. But it startled me.)

(Edit. I hadn't taken into account limits on individual candidates' spending, which run roughly an additional $60,000 to $100,000 depending on the number of voters in their riding. So average that at $80,000 per riding, multiply by 308 ridings, call it another $24 million for a party running candidates in every riding. Add the $18 million in party spending, if I'm reading this correctly, and that comes out to $42 million Canadian. Still seems like a bargain.)

Comments

[archaica.livejournal.com]

It is pretty insane. Especially given how most of it is *targeted* spending. It's not even as though they're trying to reach *all* their constituents with all that money. Presidential contests are even more insane - they don't even bother with some states, they just go for the "battleground" states (another reason why the Electoral College sucks ass)

[iagofan.livejournal.com]

it doesn't seem like we are getting fair value for our money, does it?

[dancinghorse.livejournal.com]

The same can be said of our health-care system. And our educational system.

It's the American way.

Hey!

[raithen.livejournal.com]

Your toes match your icon! A USE for them ;).