Skip to main content

When Politicians Talk, What Does It Cost You?

Yesterday we published our full cost analysis of the proposals offered during last week's CNN GOP debate. The debate was nearly three hours long -- here's what candidates did with that time in dollar figures. (Note: dollars are in millions.)

 

CandidateCost of Proposals per YearSpeaking TimeCost per Minute
Jeb Bush$71,71815:48$4,539
Ben Carson$3,80012:56$294
Chris Christie-$5,62212:36-$446
Ted Cruz-$92,63310:45-$8,617
Carly Fiorina$43,78313:30$3,243
Mike Huckabee-$19,2829:20-$2,066
John KasichN/A9:44N/A
Rand Paul-$7510:28-$7
Marco Rubio$72711:21$64
Donald Trump-$87,83118:47-$4,676
Scott Walker-$57,4588:29-$6,773
 
 
Each candidate averaged about 12 minutes of talking during the debate. Donald Trump spent the most time talking, at over 18 minutes, while Scott Walker (who pulled out of the race this week) clocked in at just 8 and a half minutes.
 
A full analysis of the proposals is available via PDF here.