This post has not been vetted or endorsed by BuzzFeed's editorial staff. BuzzFeed Community is a place where anyone can create a post or quiz. Try making your own!

    9 Things Our Country Could Have Bought Instead of Campaigning for the 2012 Elections

    According to the Center for Responsive Politics, fundraising and campaigning for the 2012 Election will cost an estimated $5.8 Billion. Here's what that could have bought:

    177,821 students' tuition, room and board for one year at a private 4-year university.

    137,727 public school teachers being hired.

    278,377 students under the age of 30 paying back their college debt.

    6,444,444 college students buying textbooks for a year

    946,320 households buying food for a year

    1,137,924 families paying for full-time childcare at a childcare center.

    8,285,714 American families buying Christmas presents

    the entire population of Texas going skydiving

    Every unemployed American buying a ticket to Coachella.