An average winning Senate race costs $10; a House race, $1.5m.
Assuming a 6 day week, 10 hour days, 50 weeks a year, in one election cycle Senators put in 9,000 hours and Members of Congress 3,000. If half of that is legislating and the other half fund-raising (i.e., talking to donors), then a $100 dollar donation should buy me a 4.5 minute conversation with my representative in the Senate, and 10 minutes with my House representative...
Alternatively, the billing rate for a Senator is $1,333 per hour and a member of congress $600.
Lawyers without particular high charge rate specializations might bill their time at $250 for associates and perhaps $400 for partners. So democratic representation is more expensive to buy - by the hour - than legal counsel. Could that explain why we are such a litigious society?
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