How much are Ron Paul's supporters worth?
We all know that Ron Paul has a lot of active supporters...but how much are they worth? As of writing this entry, there are currently 23,505 active supporters on meetup.
So lets look at the conservative numbers. I would assume that if someone is active enough to be on meetup, that they spend at least 5 hours per week on the campaign. Talking to people, meeting etc. (probably an understatement for a LOT of people).
In a quarter, there are 13 weeks (91 days/7). Which means each meet up person spends 65 hours per quarter on the campaign.
With a total of 1,527,825 man hours for the group. Lets say each person gets paid minimum wage by the campaign for their efforts. Minimum wage on average is about $7 per hour. Which means we save the campaign: $10,694,775 dollars each quarter.
This doesn't take into account all the money that is spent on supplies, promotional materials, and meetup costs OUT-OF-POCKET. Nor does it take into account all the Ron Paul supporters who are not on meetup, but who still spread his message in other ways.
Food for thought for all of you doubters out there.
(Special thanks to Andrew G. of NJ for the initial data and concept)