American blue-collar workers disappear — from Congress

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According to a famous Lincolnian phrase (from the Gettysburg Address, no less), ours is a "government of the people, by the people...&quot But if you look at who governs, what we have is a "government of the people by the rich people," Duke University political scientist Nicholas Carnes told a Minneapolis audience Thursday.
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About 54 percent of Americans have held a blue-collar job for a substantial portion of their adulthood, Carnes has found. The portion of those serving in Congress who come from a blue-collar background is less than 2 percent.

On the other hand, those with a net worth of at least $1 million constitute about 3 percent of the U.S. population. Yet millionaires constitute a majority of the current members of the U.S. House, a supermajority of the Senate, a majority of the current membership of the Supreme Court, and one out of one of the current occupants of the Oval Office.

In fact, at least since World War II, we haven't had a president who worked with his hands for any substantial portion of his life, Carnes said.

Does it make any difference in how they govern? Carnes has studied the voting and legislative history of members of Congress and he says yes, a big difference.
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http://www.minnpost.com/eric-black-ink/2014/03/american-blue-collar-workers-disappear-congress