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Your "Representatives" in Congress
Photo by flickr user landahlauts used under a Creative Commons license.Ever wondered why our country's laws so often favor the rich over middle and working-class people? Consider this: Last week, the Center for Responsive Politics released its latest survey of congressional financial disclosure forms. Of the 535 voting members of Congress, over 44 percent of—237 to be exact—are millionaires. Fifty members have net worths of at least $10 million, and seven are worth more than $100 million. (I profiled Rep. Darrell Issa, a California Republican who is now the richest member of Congress, in the September/October issue of Mother Jones.)
By comparison, around one percent of Americans are millionaires. There is no other minority group that is as overrepresented in Congress as millionaires are. For black people to be similarly overrepresented compared to their percentage of the population, the entire Congress would have to be black. (Actually, even that wouldn't be enough.) If Mormons were similarly overrepresented, there would be 75 of them in Congress (there are 16 right now).
So next time that the Congress does something that seems outrageously biased in favor of rich people—say, slashing top income tax rates or spending $440 billion over 10 years to cut estate taxes on one quarter of one percent of Americans—remember who members of Congress are really helping: themselves.
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Republican Class Warfare
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Leave No Millionaire Behind
Driven by hollow political priorities, the Bush administration's disastrous economic policies are undermining our national ideals.
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A Socialist in the Millionaires' Club: An Interview with Bernie Sanders
Vermont's junior senator-elect has a modest proposal for Ted Kennedy's committee: Investigate "power and wealth in America."
If gays were overrepresented...
Are there any open homosexuals in the US Congress? Shouldn't there be 55 even for proportional representation (10% of adults self-identify, right?)
Worrying about the wealth of
Worrying about the wealth of congresscritters is demagogy. Far more important is the legal bribes (aka campaign contributions) that they have to prostitute themselves for.
It doesn't surprise me that most members of congress are well off. They're generally ambitious and well connected people - exactly the sort who could make plenty of money in legitimate ways. Moreover, running for your first term is a full time job - not the sort of thing that most people without some independent means could afford to do.
While they may be well off, most of them are not Bloomberg rich, and so have to prostitute themselves to get or keep the power that they crave. That's why we need publicly financed campaigns.
I laugh when people criticize politicians for being vote whores - that's exactly what they're supposed to be in a representative form of government. The problem is that instead of whoring for votes, they whore themselves for the money to run campaigns.
Which is an argument for
Which is an argument for Term Limits. How do you feel about Term Limits, Nick?
your reps in congress
I don't like term limits period.
If you have a good guy, just when he gets to committee chair seniority he's out.
With the present system if you think he's bad - get the votes and get him out.
Most of the time people complain about pols from other states and want them out.
If that's you then I guess you should take your American right, move there and work to get the pol out.
If not just hire a lobbyist . . . hahahahaha!
Insane
This is insane. Wealth can be a decent proxy for leadership quality and professional success. I'd rather have my country run by disconnected rich people than lazy idiots, since the latter are "more representative" of the population at large.
Thannxxx for it is the size
Thannxxx for it is the size of your vault that casts the votes.The article is treally very true, thank you for spreading awareness Nick Baumann. But on the other hand, I fell over laughing from the pick of Donald's Uncle. One year I defiantly voted for "other" as president and vice, Donald and Daisy of course.)
how many jews in congress?
how many jews in congress?
This is why we need a federal tax revolt.
Every working American should pay his/her federal taxes to their state. Corporate taxes, personal income taxes, the whole nine yards. We'll spend the money the way it should be spent, not on a bunch of rich a-holes who could care less about us. Face it, our money will continue to be wasted until we do something. Standing around whining about it won't accomplish anything. Years down the road, our kids and grandkids will look back on the crisis we were in and ask "Why the hell didn't you do anything to stop it? You lived in a democracy! You could've pulled the plug anytime, but you didn't!"
Enjoy the shoddy nursing homes you'll be living in. You'll deserve every bedbug bite you got coming.
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