Pop Quiz

I do think that the whole "Rudy Giuliani doesn't know how much a gallon of milk costs" brouhaha was a bunch of nonsense, but the notion of out-of-touch politicians making judgments on working people's lives without understanding the challenges they face is salient. It's just that the gallon of milk is not the most salient example of that. Michael Tomasky comes up with 10 better ones, and they track with Andy Stern's examples in his book A Country That Works. I'll put the ten here, and add my estimates next to them, without looking them up (you're just going to have to trust me):

1. The median U.S. household income. $35,000.

2. The median salary of a schoolteacher (chart gives a range). $32,000.

3. The median salary of an active-duty enlisted soldier (table gives a range). $28,000.

4. The average yearly cost of a family health-care plan (see fourth graf). $18,000

5. The cost of an average American car, a standard-equipment Chevy Malibu (on this page, select “Base” style and fill in your ZIP Code). $17,500.

6. Average cost of a four-year college education including tuition, fees, room, and board at a public university (2005 figures; see third graf and multiply by four). $87,000.

7. The unit cost of an Army Black Hawk helicopter. $30 million.

8. How much the United States pays every year to farmers who don’t farm. $5 billion.

9. How many billions’ worth of weapons the United States sells to other countries (2005 figures). $25 billion.

10. Number of articles in the U.S. Constitution. 7.

I underestimated #1 because I misread the question (didn't see HOUSEHOLD). I was at the low end of being right on #2. I was at the high end of #3. I was over on #4. Exactly right on the Chevy because I bought a car last year. Under on college ($120,000, wow). Way over on the helicopter. Over on farmers (only $1.3 billion). Over on weapons sold by 3X (I clearly have an oversized view of the military-industrial complex). Nailed #10.

I can simply not run for President.