Meg Whitman's $141 Million Spree; Could We Exchange It for These?

1 year ago

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In her first campaign for public office, Meg Whitman, the former chief executive of eBay, spent more than $141 million of her own money , a record, running for governor of California. She lost to Jerry Brown.

It boggles the mind, unless you think of other ways you could spend this kind of money. This is what $141 million has recently bought:

-- a year's worth of city services (the 2011 city budget) for Longview, Texas ( population: 78,000.)

-- three weeks worth of claim payments for damages related to the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, paid to both people and businesses.

-- efforts to turn around worst-performing schools in Pennsylvania, with money from the federal stimulus package.

-- a 125,000 square-foot, 4-story new hospital wing at St. Vincent's Medical Center in Bridgeport, Conn., including a cancer center.

-- energy-efficiency and renewable-energy programs in five states and one territory, with money awarded by the Obama administration last year.

-- pollution controls at three refineries in Kansas and Wyoming, from settlements between petroleum refiners and the federal government.

Can you wrap your head around $141 million now?

Filed Under: Woman Up

Tagged: 2010 Governor Elections, meg whitman

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