With Election Day just around the corner, 2012 is on track to be the most expensive election in history, potentially reaching $6 billion, topping the previous record by $700 million. What’s the big difference this cycle from previous ones? Outside groups such as super PACs and non-profits, that can collect unlimited sums of money from individuals and will spend a projected $970 million, mostly on television ads.
For the select few billionaires bankrolling this spending surge, $6 billion is a fathomable sum of money. But for the rest of us (just worried about paying the rent or the mortgage each month), it’s hard to imagine just how much money that really is. So we here at CLC tried to quantify that $6 billion for you, to demonstrate how much money is actually being spent this election cycle. Here are just a few examples of what $6 billion could buy:
With $6 billion we could create 103,500 jobs in the United States.
With $6 billion you could buy 171,428,571,429 gallons of gas for your car - that's enough gas for 155,844,156 American households.
With $6 billion you could buy 1,734,104,046 gallons of milk - enough for 8,627,383 people for an entire year.
With $6 billion NASA could build 2 new Mars Rovers.
With $6 billion, 1.5 million students could receive Pell Grants to make college more affordable.