bozodog
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 12/19/07
Posts: 10108
Loc: SW Michigan
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in Congress.
No wonder they are out of touch with the common man... Makes you wonder what kind of legislation would be coming out of DC if our reps were in the $60-100k range.
Quote:
Talk about bad timing.
As Washington reels from the news of 10.2 percent unemployment, the Center for Responsive Politics is out with a new report describing the wealth of members of Congress.
Among the highlights: Two-hundred-and-thirty-seven members of Congress are millionaires. That’s 44 percent of the body – compared to about 1 percent of Americans overall.
CRP says California Republican Rep. Darrell Issa is the richest lawmaker on Capitol Hill, with a net worth estimated at about $251 million. Next in line: Rep. Jane Harman (D-Calif.), worth about $244.7 million; Sen. Herb Kohl (D-Wis.), worth about $214.5 million; Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.), worth about $209.7 million; and Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.), worth about $208.8 million.
All told, at least seven lawmakers have net worths greater than $100 million, according to the Center’s 2008 figures.
more
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Governments don’t bear the cost of anything; their citizens do.
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HeatPro
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 07/30/04
Posts: 23836
Loc: South New Jersey
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Yup ...
NET WORTH is a different way to look at money. It's possible that a recently widowed woman could be actually penniless for while she lived in a $250,000 house and had two $10,000 cars. She might have to submit for food stamps and fuel aid to get by until she got a job. And she'd better not get sick until then.
A net worth of $270,000 dollars might be enough to let her not eat until she actually sold a car or the house she lived in for 30 years.
NET WORTH is a tricky measure.
And why wouldn't people who know enough people to be elected, and have the character to shmooze so many people into getting to contribute to their campaign and pay thousands of dollars for one dinner plate with them, not have more than a little house?
If Biden got divorced, where would he start? Why is his NET WORTH zero with a Congressman's pay at c.$150,000 and VP's pay c.$200,000 plus expenses?
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Friends tell people how to live past 60.
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CabinConnection
Big Foot
Reged: 01/20/04
Posts: 21244
Loc: The Indianhead's Left Nostril....
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This doesn't surprise, nor bother me, in the slightest. As Harold points out, net worth is drastically different than net income.
I would EXPECT anyone who's smart enough and savvy enough to be a Congressman to have a net worth of a million or more. It's not all that difficult to achieve.
And while your "news source" seems to be a bit hysterical, it does point out some other "facts" which you didn't post. For example:
"The CRP numbers are somewhat rough estimates – lawmakers are required to report their financial information in broad ranges of figures, so it’s impossible to pin down their dollars with precision. The CRP uses the mid-point in the ranges to build its estimates.
"Senators’ estimated median reportable worth sunk to about $1.79 million from $2.27 million in 2007. The House’s median income was significantly lower and also sank, bottoming out at $622,254 from $724,258 in 2007.
"One caveat on those numbers: Federal financial disclosure laws don’t require members to list the value of their personal residences. That information could alter the net worth picture for many lawmakers.
"Even so, Levinthal said, “It is clear that some members are struggling financially.
“Over a calendar year, one’s wealth can change drastically. Many peoples’ investments took a nose dive over night in the last year,” he said.
"A number of lawmakers are estimated to have suffered double-digit percentage lossed in their net worth from 2007 to 2008. The biggest losers include Kerry, who lost a whopping $127.4 million; Warner lost about $28.1 million; Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) lost about $11.8 million; and Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) lost about $10.1 million.
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