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The British Columbia Citizens' Assembly (BCCA)
in 2004 was the only recent comparable organization to the USCIA. Its budget was
$CAN 5.5 million. The Canadian dollar was about 80 percent of the U.S. Dollar,
but U.S. wages tend to be somewhat higher than Canadian wages. For the purposes
of roughly estimating U.S. costs, the Canadian dollar will be taken at par.
The BCCA had 160 members, who each served about
30 days over 11 months and were each paid an honorarium of $150 for a total of
$720,000. By comparison, the USCIA will have 480 members, who will each serve
about 60 days over 12 months and will be paid $300 plus a
potential bonus for a total of about $12,096,000.
One thing that is immediately apparent is that
the BCCA administrative costs were far more than the Member's remuneration.
Assuming the USCIA budget is $60 million per year, then the following table
shows a comparison:
|
Comparison of BCCA and USCIA Budgets |
|
|
BCCA |
USCIA |
Ratio |
|
Members |
160 |
480 |
3.0 |
|
Service Days |
30 |
72 |
2.4 |
|
Member-Days per Year |
4,800 |
34,560 |
7.2 |
|
Daily Pay Rate and Bonus |
150 |
350 |
2.3 |
|
Annual Remuneration |
720,000 |
12,096,000 |
16.8 |
|
Total Budget |
5,500,000 |
60,000,000 |
10.9 |
|
Pay as % of Budget |
13.1% |
20.2% |
1.5 |
These comparisons appear reasonable. The BCCA
membership was more along the size that would be expected in a State as compared
with a much larger nationwide Assembly. The BCCA was a one-off organization, so
it is reasonable to expect their overheads to be higher than the USCIA. The
higher USCIA Service Days and Member-Days per Year will be expected to be able
to process several times more Initiatives per year than the BCCA.
Cost Estimate Breakdown
A table will be added here.
This is an area where current estimates are hard to find.
The Cato Institute
estimate the cost at $2.8 billion per year in 1993. It is reasonable to assume a
50 percent increase from 1993 to 2004, equating to $4.2 billion in 2004. The
2004 salary for rank-and-file members of the House and Senate is
$158,100
per year. Members of Congress receive retirement and health benefits under the
same plans available to other federal employees.
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