[Nacdor]

> How much do you think it should cost to get a former president to give a talk?

Nothing. Or, on second thought, maybe a large donation to a children's hospital. I would expect a public servant from the highest office to be committed to public service. The presidency shouldn't be monetized, but if a former president really needs money they could always sell a book. That doesn't create any perverse incentives like speaking fees.

[ballenf]

Maybe your plan would work if we had a generous a pension plan that required a certain number of community service hours. One problem would be that most of these speeches are anything but public or open to the community.

[syspec]

Presidents do receive a pension, along with other benefits for life

[pfortuny]

The expenses.