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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsCongress Is Now Mostly A Millionaires’ Club
For the first time, more than half of congressional lawmakers are worth at least $1 millionBy Andrew Katz @katzJan. 09, 20149 Comments
Congress is loaded, if you werent already aware.
The Center for Responsive Politics analyzed the personal financial disclosure data from 2012 of the 534 current members of Congress and found that, for the first time, more than half had an average net worth of $1 million or more: 268 to be exact, up from 257 the year earlier. The median for congressional Democrats was $1.04 million and, for Republicans, $1 million even.
To calculate the net worth of lawmakers, the Center added together members significant assets, such as corporate bonds and stocks, then subtracted major liabilities such as loans, credit card debt and property mortgages.
Heres the breakdown: the median net worth for all House members was $896,000 (Democrats averaged $929,000 to Republicans $884,000) and, for Senators, $2.5 million. The median net worth for Senate Democrats was $1.7 million, down from $2.4 million in 2011; for Republicans: $2.9 million, up from $2.5 million in 2011.
Richest and Poorest Members
Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), the chairman of the House Oversight Committee who made his millions in the car alarm business, was the richest lawmaker in Congress with an average net worth of $464 million in 2012.
Read more: For the First Time, the Majority of Congress Are Millionaires | TIME.com http://swampland.time.com/2014/01/09/congress-is-now-mostly-a-millionaires-club/#ixzz2pwYOlCas
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Congress Is Now Mostly A Millionaires’ Club (Original Post)
Purveyor
Jan 2014
OP
It would cover their costs of living if they were willing to live with the "little people."
Shoulders of Giants
Jan 2014
#3
NancyDL
(140 posts)1. Congressmen need an adequate living allowance...
... A big problem is the cost of running for office is so high that average folk just can't compete, but another, lesser known, problem is that the living allowances received by congressmen don't come near to covering the cost of living in DC. More folk of modest means might be inspired to run if they were able to cover their living expenses.
onethatcares
(16,184 posts)2. it's fairly easy to cover their living expenses.
All they have to do is head on over to K Street and be whores. Viola, problem solved.
Do I think our "representatives" are sell outs? You bet.
Do I wish someone would point out where I'm mistaken? You bet 2x
Shoulders of Giants
(370 posts)3. It would cover their costs of living if they were willing to live with the "little people."
http://washingtondc.craigslist.org/search/apa?catAbb=apa&query=&zoomToPosting=&minAsk=500&maxAsk=1000&bedrooms=&housing_type=
Plenty of places where rent is under $1000 a month. Keep in mind, they don't need to move their family to Washington DC, so a 1 room apartment is good enough. I've lived in much worse place than the ones at that link. With utilities, that would be about an extra $20,000 a year at most. That leaves them with about $150,000 a year left over for their main home in their districts.
Plenty of places where rent is under $1000 a month. Keep in mind, they don't need to move their family to Washington DC, so a 1 room apartment is good enough. I've lived in much worse place than the ones at that link. With utilities, that would be about an extra $20,000 a year at most. That leaves them with about $150,000 a year left over for their main home in their districts.
Packerowner740
(676 posts)4. That's why there should be term limits
They are all there to influence laws to line their own pockets.
Fumesucker
(45,851 posts)5. Who else would best know how to properly serve the 1%?
Tuesday Afternoon
(56,912 posts)6. du rec