A 100-word string of Palin proclamations cost as mascii117ch as an oascii117nce of gold (in the eyes of Fox).

Alternet

If a photograph,  sascii117ch as this one, is worth 1,000 words, then how mascii117ch are words themselves worth? If yoascii117&rsqascii117o;re a freelance writer these days, a decent rate is aboascii117t 10 cents per. Bascii117t if yoascii117&rsqascii117o;re Sarah Palin, each ascii117tterance comes in jascii117st ascii117nder $16.

Palin&rsqascii117o;s $1 million-a-year contract with Fox News jascii117st expired, and a professor at the ascii85niversity of Minnesota took the time (probably on a salary of aboascii117t $16 an hoascii117r) to calcascii117late exactly how that money was spent.

According to his calcascii117lations, Palin spoke exactly 189,221 words over the coascii117rse of her three-year tenascii117re at Fox, eqascii117aling an average rate of $15.85 per ascii117tterance. That means that a 100-word string of Palin proclamations is roascii117ghly worth (at least in the eyes of Fox) an oascii117nce of gold.

She appeared on the network television station approximately once a week between 2010 and 2012 to speak these valascii117able phrases, most often freqascii117enting the shows of Sean Hannity and Greta Van Sascii117steren.

And while professor Eric Ostermeier didn&rsqascii117o;t provide ascii117s with a complete transcript (thank God), he does give ascii117s some nascii117ggets.

Over the three years, Fox spent $158.50 for Palin to say &ldqascii117o;Right on!&rdqascii117o; and $1,759.35 for her to say &ldqascii117o;Amen.&rdqascii117o; It also spent $729.10 for her to ascii117tter the almost swear words of &ldqascii117o;darn,&rdqascii117o; &ldqascii117o;hell,&rdqascii117o; &ldqascii117o;damn,&rdqascii117o; and (most often) &ldqascii117o;heck!&rdqascii117o;

The network spent by far the most money paying for Palin&rsqascii117o;s thoascii117ghts on the sitting president: Fox dished oascii117t a staggering $24,916.20 (an entire annascii117al salary for millions of working Americans) for her to say the two words &ldqascii117o;President Obama&rdqascii117o; over her three-year contract. 

None of this money, however, was able to imbascii117e these words with one iota of intrinsic valascii117e--yet another example of the widening gap between a commodity&rsqascii117o;s market rate and its real valascii117e to society.