# Why a $3300 limit on donations? **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [June 30, 2024, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-a-3300-limit-on-donations/1003535 "2024-06-30T18:04:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2024, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-a-3300-limit-on-donations/1003535/1 "2024-06-30T18:04:36Z")
The Federal Election Commission bumped up the limit for individual donations to candidates from $2900 to $3300 in February 2023. Anybody know why these non-round numbers are used for limits? Other limits ([here’s a handy chart](https://www.fec.gov/help-candidates-and-committees/candidate-taking-receipts/contribution-limits/)) are the more expected $5,000 or $10,000. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Bravo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_bravo/32/493_2.png) [@Johnny\_Bravo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Bravo)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2024, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-a-3300-limit-on-donations/1003535/2 "2024-06-30T18:11:33Z")
Your chart tells you. The limits are raised periodically to keep up with inflation. That won’t produce round numbers. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2024, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-a-3300-limit-on-donations/1003535/3 "2024-06-30T18:46:11Z")
> [@Johnny\_Bravo](#): > > That won’t produce round numbers. At least the round a little. $3,294 would be awkward. ---
**Author:** ![Buck\_Godot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/buck_godot/32/6573_2.png) [@Buck\_Godot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Buck_Godot)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2024, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-a-3300-limit-on-donations/1003535/4 "2024-07-01T16:27:11Z")
The way things are going with this court and its love of corruption, I doubt that a limit of any amount will be around much longer. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2024, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-a-3300-limit-on-donations/1003535/5 "2024-07-01T18:21:39Z")
But why not go from, say, $2000 to $2500 to $3000? Going up $400 from $2900 is a 13.79% raise. That might be a rounding up of the actual 12.4% CPI raise to the next hundred, but they could save a lot of grief by just going up a set amount that will work for several campaigns. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Bravo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_bravo/32/493_2.png) [@Johnny\_Bravo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Bravo)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2024, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-a-3300-limit-on-donations/1003535/6 "2024-07-01T18:34:33Z")
Tying the increases to inflation **is** saving grief, because it’s objective. “Just going up a set amount” means somebody has to decide what that amount is, then justify their decision. Minimum wage is a great example of something that _should_ go up with inflation and does not. Lots of grief spilled over that as a result. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2024, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-a-3300-limit-on-donations/1003535/7 "2024-07-01T18:55:19Z")
> [@Johnny\_Bravo](#): > > Minimum wage is a great example of something that _should_ go up with inflation and does not. Lots of grief spilled over that as a result. In some states (such as here in Oregon), minimum wage _does_ go up with inflation. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Bravo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_bravo/32/493_2.png) [@Johnny\_Bravo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Bravo)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2024, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-a-3300-limit-on-donations/1003535/8 "2024-07-01T19:06:20Z")
True! I was thinking of federal minimum wage specifically, which hasn’t changed in something like fifteen years.