What $9 Million for the West-Klein Race Could Have Bought

Categories: Politics
Allen West raised $5.5 million to win the race.
The cash poured in from all over the country, as unions, Christian conservatives, Tea Party ideologues, Big Pharma, and Big Oil opened their pockets. With at least $9 million raised in the Ron Klein-Allen West congressional contest, it was one of the most expensive races of its kind in the country.

Was it worth it? You decide. Meanwhile, here are a few other ways that kind of dough could have been spent:

1. Help plug the hole in the state's broken unemployment-compensation fund. We've already borrowed $600 million from the feds to keep up with bills.

2. Provide health insurance to some of the approximately 800,000 children in Florida without that essential coverage.

3. Make a dent in the Broward County School District's budget shortfall, which hovers around $130 million.

4. Fill in some of the budget gaps in Palm Beach County, so the poorest citizens would not have to pay more for bus passes.

5. Fund more stimulus projects to put Floridians to work and lower the staggering 11.9 percent unemployment rate.

Like this Story?

Sign up for the Weekly Newsletter: Our weekly feature stories, movie reviews, calendar picks and more - minus the newsprint and sent directly to your inbox.

Privacy Policy
Sign up for free stuff, news info & more!

Tools

General

Services

Browse Voice Nation
  • Voice Places

    Voice Places

    Discover restaurants, nightlife, travel, shopping...

  • VOICE Daily Deals

    VOICE Daily Deals

    Get 50 to 90% off every day on restaurants, movies, massages...

  • Best Of

    Best Of...

    More than 10,000 of the BEST things to eat, drink, and experience

  • My Voice Nation

    My Voice Nation

    Join the Village Voice community and get exclusive deals and info

  • Happy Hour

    Happy Hour

    Your local Happy Hour guide at your fingertips

or

Log in or Sign up

Social Connect:

Use your favorite account to access My Voice Nation.


Use your My Voice Nation account to log in:





Forgot password?
or

Sign Up or Log in

Social Connect:

Sign up for My Voice Nation with your preferred network.


Sign up for a My Voice Nation account:



Privacy policy