If you're wondering why Congress just doesn't understand what it's like to be an average American, it's because we've finally reached the point where the majority of Congress's 534 members are worth at least $1 million.
For the first time in history, most members of Congress are millionaires, according to a new analysis of personal financial disclosure data by the Center for Responsive Politics.
Of 534 current members of Congress, at least 268 had an average net worth of $1 million or more in 2012, according to disclosures filed last year by all members of Congress and candidates. The median net worth for the 530 current lawmakers who were in Congress as of the May filing deadline was $1,008,767 -- an increase from last year when it was $966,000. In addition, at least one of the members elected since then, Rep. Katherine Clark(D-Mass.), is a millionaire, according to forms she filed as a candidate. (There is currently one vacancy in Congress.)
Last year only 257 members, or about 48 percent of lawmakers, had a median net worth of at least $1 million.
Members of Congress have long been far wealthier than the typical American, but the fact that now a majority of members -- albeit just a hair over 50 percent -- are millionaires represents a watershed moment at a time when lawmakers are debating issues like unemployment benefits, food stamps and the minimum wage, which affect people with far fewer resources, as well as considering an overhaul of the tax code.
"Despite the fact that polls show how dissatisfied Americans are with Congress overall, there's been no change in our appetite to elect affluent politicians to represent our concerns in Washington, said Sheila Krumholz, executive director of the Center. "Of course, it's undeniable that in our electoral system, candidates need access to wealth to run financially viable campaigns, and the most successful fundraisers are politicians who swim in those circles to begin with."
When only the rich can get elected, and money buys influence, they represent only the rich. The rest of us get screwed.
But campaign finance reform is unconstitutional.
Think about that.
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2 comments:
I would just like to draw attention to the obvious fact that nuclear power plants do not routinely poison and kill people in the course of day to day operations, and that toxic releases of this sort are rare to the point that they can be counted on the fingers of one hand with half the digits sliced off in a coal mining accident.
The reason for this is superior design, timely maintenance, and effective oversight: all of which costs money. If the coal industry were held to the same standards as the nuclear industry, burdened with the same financial overhead, wind and solar would become (relatively speaking) too cheap to meter. Our nation would overnight be blanketed with solar panels and windmills and our green energy future would be secured.
The linked listings are for "average" net worth because the reporting values the assets by range. The real interesting factoid is the number of Representatives with a maximum net worth less than zero -- essentially bankrupt.
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