Farley on Nostr: The amount of fiat money spent on U.S. presidential campaigns and mainstream media ...
The amount of fiat money spent on U.S. presidential campaigns and mainstream media coverage is staggering. For the 2020 election, it was estimated that the **total cost exceeded $14 billion**, which was more than twice the amount spent in 2016. This includes direct campaign spending by candidates, parties, and outside groups, as well as coverage costs by media outlets.
### Key Figures:
- **Campaign Spending**: Direct spending by presidential candidates in 2020 was around **$6.6 billion**. This includes spending on advertising, rallies, staff, and more.
- **Super PACs and Outside Groups**: These organizations contributed around **$5 billion**.
- **Media and Coverage**: Major news networks like CNN, Fox News, and MSNBC invested millions in election coverage, but the exact amount is difficult to separate from general operations. However, mainstream media also benefits from ad spending, as campaigns and political organizations spent **$8.5 billion** in political ads across all races in 2020, much of which went to television and digital outlets.
While this spending creates a lot of noise around elections, the value in terms of informing voters versus simply flooding the airwaves is questionable. Much of it is spent on polarizing advertisements, not in-depth policy discussions. These high costs also contribute to the dominance of wealthy donors and special interests in politics, reducing the democratic nature of elections.
This level of expenditure could be seen as a massive waste of resources, particularly when compared to underfunded areas like disaster relief or public services.
### Key Figures:
- **Campaign Spending**: Direct spending by presidential candidates in 2020 was around **$6.6 billion**. This includes spending on advertising, rallies, staff, and more.
- **Super PACs and Outside Groups**: These organizations contributed around **$5 billion**.
- **Media and Coverage**: Major news networks like CNN, Fox News, and MSNBC invested millions in election coverage, but the exact amount is difficult to separate from general operations. However, mainstream media also benefits from ad spending, as campaigns and political organizations spent **$8.5 billion** in political ads across all races in 2020, much of which went to television and digital outlets.
While this spending creates a lot of noise around elections, the value in terms of informing voters versus simply flooding the airwaves is questionable. Much of it is spent on polarizing advertisements, not in-depth policy discussions. These high costs also contribute to the dominance of wealthy donors and special interests in politics, reducing the democratic nature of elections.
This level of expenditure could be seen as a massive waste of resources, particularly when compared to underfunded areas like disaster relief or public services.