Cut the political ad spending to improve America

Wow! We certainly had an exciting last two weeks in the S.C. Presidential Primary elections. Excessive amounts of promising, accusing, gesticulating, and finger-pointing. How much did all this cost in dollars? Could that money have been spent on more worthwhile community projects, state roads and bridges, health care of homeless, clean water, and clean air?

A whopping 95 percent of the TV ad spending in the Republican presidential race has come from outside groups and Super PACs, while just 5 percent comes from the actual campaigns, according to an NBC News analysis of TV ad spending data from SMG Delta.

The opposite is true on the Democratic side - 95 percent of the TV ad spending in the Democratic presidential contest has come from the campaigns, versus just 5 percent from outside groups. Another way to look at the TV ad spending to date: In the GOP race, outside groups (about $42 million) are outspending the campaigns ($2 million) by more than a 20-to-1 ratio. And in the Democratic primary contest, the campaigns ($7.5 million) are outspending the outside groups (about $400,000).

According to my math, that totals over $50 million spent in the last two weeks. That amount would give South Carolina 34 miles of ground and resurfaced asphalt roads, 245,100 feet or 46 miles of 6-feet-wide sidewalk, or 230 miles of 12-feet-wide multi-use trails. Pick your poison. What is the best way to spend political contributions?

This story was originally published March 3, 2016 at 9:05 PM with the headline "Cut the political ad spending to improve America."