Saturday, January 11, 2014

Americans Get Poorer And Congress Gets Richer: Don’t Beg Them For Crumbs!

By Bob Allen, Political Outcast, January 11, 2014

So… a record number of Americans are out of work… take home income is plummeting, and when you factor in inflation, the average American’s buying-power is even weaker…


In a week dominated by politicians’ talk about income inequality, a new tally shows that most members of Congress are millionaires.

Of 534 current lawmakers on Capitol Hill, at least 268 had an median net worth of $1 million or more in 2012, the analysis by the non-partisan Center for Responsive Politics found. That’s up from 257 members — or about 48% of lawmakers — in 2011 and marks the first time that a majority of politicians on Capitol Hill were in the millionaire’s club.
The richest lawmaker: Rep, Darrell Issa, R-Calif., who oversees the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee and made a fortune in his car- alarms business. The center calculates his average net worth at $464 million.

Senators generally are better off than House members, with an average net worth of $2.7 million in the Senate compared with $896,000 in the House.

It’s impossible to know exactly how much money lawmakers have. They are required to report their assets in broad ranges only.



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