U.S. Congress increasingly controlled by the super-rich

By Catholic Online (NEWS CONSORTIUM)
12/27/2011
Catholic Online (www.catholic.org)

Multi-millionaire lawmakers cut off from travails of ordinary Americans

Members of the U.S. Congress have grown increasingly wealthy, making the divide between the rich and the desperately poor in our nation all the more calamitous. According to Eric Lichtblau of the New York Times, congressional leaders have become the one percent that the Occupy Wall Street protesters have denounced as holding all the nation's riches and power.

At least 10 members, led by Representative Darrell Issa, a California Republican and former auto alarm magnate who is now worth somewhere between $195 million and $700 million.

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LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - "Largely insulated from the country's economic downturn since 2008, members of Congress - many of them among the 'one percenters' denounced by Occupy Wall Street protesters - have gotten much richer even as most of the country has become much poorer in the last six years," Lichtblau writes.

Lichtblau goes on to cite statistics on analysis from The New York Times, based on data from the Center for Responsive Politics, which is a nonprofit research group.

Historically, the U.S. Congress has never been a place for the poor. From plantation owners in the pre-Civil War era to industrialists in the early 1900s to ex-Wall Street financiers and Internet executives today, it has long been populated with the rich - "but rarely has the divide appeared so wide, or the public contrast so stark, between lawmakers and those they represent.

"But with the American public feeling all this economic pain, people just resent it more," Alan J. Ziobrowski, a professor at Georgia State who studied lawmakers' stock investments says.

The costs of political campaigning may discourage the less affluent from even considering a candidacy. Loose ethics controls, shrewd stock picks, profitable land deals, favorable tax laws, inheritances and even marriages to wealthy spouses are all reasons for the rising fortunes on Capitol Hill.

In addition, the median net worth of members of Congress jumped 15 percent from 2004 to 2010, the net worth of the richest 10 percent of Americans remained essentially flat. For all Americans, median net worth dropped 8 percent during that period.

At least 10 members, led by Representative Darrell Issa, a California Republican and former auto alarm magnate who is now worth somewhere between $195 million and $700 million.

Issa has since faced outside scrutiny because of the overlap of his Congressional work and outside interests, including extensive investments with Wall Street firms like Merrill Lynch and Goldman Sachs, as well as land holdings in his San Diego district.

In another example of an abuse by the well-heeled, Senator John Kerry, a Massachusetts Democrat who is married to Teresa Heinz Kerry, set off an uproar last year when it was disclosed that he had docked his $7 million, 76-foot yacht not in his home state but in neighboring Rhode Island, which has no sales or use tax on pleasure boats.

Seeing this wide overlay of wealth, the New York Times contacted the offices of the 534 current members an informal survey, asking if they had close friends or family members who had lost jobs or homes since the 2008 downturn - and only 18 members responded.

"Half the respondents said they had close friends or relatives who lost homes, while the other half said their personal contact were limited to constituents who came for help.

"Two-thirds said they had close friends or relatives who had been laid off or had shut down a business during the downturn. The rest knew no one in that category personally," Lichtblau writes.

California Democrat Anna G. Eshoo, a California Democrat who took part in the survey says that several cousins she considers brothers and sisters lost their jobs recently. Without college degrees, none have found work, and they have emphasized to her the importance of unemployment benefits.

"Personal stories are very powerful because it's not a theory," Eshoo said. "It's not talking points of a party. These are people experiencing the harshness of what is an economic depression for them." Multimillionaires in Congress "view life through a different lens," she said.

Perhaps we as Americans are so focused on other countries political corruption, maybe we should focus on our own. If our own politicians are not corrupt with facts like above -- then what is?

� 2011, Catholic Online. Distributed by NEWS CONSORTIUM.

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Pope Benedict XVI's Prayer Intentions for January 2013
General Intention: The Faith of Christians. That in this Year of Faith Christians may deepen their knowledge of the mystery of Christ and witness joyfully to the gift of faith in him.
Missionary Intention: Middle Eastern Christians. That the Christian communities of the Middle East, often discriminated against, may receive from the Holy Spirit the strength of fidelity and perseverance.

Keywords: Congress, wealth, power, corruption, abuses

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1 - 10 of 18 Comments

vance
1 year ago
Rob, I don't know about you but I'm Taxed Enough Already. What our government needs to do is go back to 2005's budget and pass what that was. Then wipe out the entire tax code and start over with a Flat Tax with no deductions. The Tax Form would be the size of a post card. Whoooops! I forgot. You are a Tax Man. I don't know where that would leave you. I guess I better rethink that.
Rob
1 year ago
Sometimes vance I'm not convinced that those in power...those that have all the nation's wealth, aren't the real reason we are where we are. There is very little movement on both sides of the isle to do anything about anyone other than those who fund campaigns. We've sold out to the highest bidder and that person is not the poor or middle class. And I don't see any signs of that changing. The next administration may be fortunate enough to not have to borrow what this administration has. By the time they take the reigns our military efforts will have winded down, we've already covered up all the wall street greed and maybe we'll let the Bush tax cuts expire so we can start paying our bills. The next guy will have the hingsight to know that blanket tax cuts or massive government spending will not do anything for the job situation in this country. Maybe this person will have the breathing room to actually reduce the defict, pay down some debt and create jobs through meaninful government incentives and tax reforms. I've looked long and hard at each of the GOP's economic platforms and I'm just not seeing anythign that suggest to me we will be changing course anytime soon. In the same way hating Bush wasn't going to fix things, hating Obama isn't going to fix anything either. Hopefully the next guy will have the courage to learn from the last decade and make the right adjustments. But I'm not holding my breath.
Vance
1 year ago
Rob, we do have choices but sadly too many people have been brainwashed to believe unless a candidate is a Liberal or a Moderate, he/she will blow up the world or pollute us to death. Our nation is in meltdown because we have been deceived over the decades into voting Liberals and Moderates into office. The Liberals are hardcore abortion fanatics while the Moderates say, I'm against abortion but I won't restrict a woman's right to chose (Kill her baby)". The Liberals have deceived us with the lie that Blacks and Hispanics are performing poorly on the Achievement Tests and are in jail because they are poor and discriminated against. So therefore, we need to 'Dumb Down' education and create a welfare system that has kept Blacks and Hispanics down as a permanent underclass with generations on welfare. The conservatives challenged this lie by insisting that Blacks and Hispanics can achieve with better education and going to work. But the Liberals and Moderates called them "Racists". So here we are with a massive welfare state that we can no longer afford because we need to borrow money from China to feed this immoral beast. Voting in a Conservative President and a Super Majority Conservative Congress is the choice we have. I doubt that we will make that choice. We chose Marxism in 2008. Look what it has brought us.
Rob
1 year ago
vance, what you are describing is merely tit for tat. One side recklessly pursues environmental issues to the detriment of our economy, regulations etc and the other side degregulates, both having negative effects. When you consider the growth of the financial sector in our world economy and examine the contributions they make on both sides of the isle, it's no wonder where we are. The only thing that matters in business today is stock value. And that is only helped to the extent that the bottom line is pumped up. So it's a no brainer that both sides of the isle have made it so easy for companies to leave this country. They get the benefit of absolutely no environmental or labor regulations and they get third world labor rates. The effect to the bottom line is obvious. I actually think all of the failed policies in regards to business over the years is merely cover to ensure the prosperity of those who keep our politicians in office. At some point we are going to figure out that neither party is a friend to the American people. In the same way folks are blind to what Obama is doing, there are those equally blind thinking that we have a real alternative. Right or left (as defined in our current political environment) is all the same. They speak differently, have different token issues to garner votes, but it all ends the same.
vance
1 year ago
Rob, you are right that we have followed the same failed policies for decades and as they relate to campaign fluff. What did Obama and Pelosi just recently accuse the GOP of doing??? That's Right, They want to "POLLUTE" the air and drinking water! They want to THROW granny over the cliff, yada, yada, yada. This 'Campaign Fluff' worked for many years with a lot of voters. The Liberal Establishment Propaganda media Talking Heads echo this fluff night in and night out like a brainwash machine. As a result our manufacturing has been "Regulated" out of business in the name of "Clean Air", "Polar Bears", and "global Warming". This Marxist in the White House has quadrupled the Regulations via Environmental Protection Agency, Endangered Species Agency, and OCHA just to name a few. Anyone opposing this assault on our manufacturing and energy production is call an evil person who wants to "POLLUTE" the air and kill Polar Bears. It is evil for BP to drill for oil in the Gulf of Mexico but it is fine for Brazil and Cuba to drill in the same spot according to our Marxist in Chief. Untli the American people wake up to the fact that our country is being systematically destroyed by Anti-Americans in the name of Clear Air, Grandma, and Apple Pie, we will continue to total destruction like Greece. This of course is exactly what Obama and the Marxist Democrat Party want.
Judy
1 year ago
Rob. Absolutely True. However, we can not not forget What Obama has and has not done; Said, and has failed miserably...like shovel ready jobs, for one ex. Would like to converse more, but time is of the essence. Vance is correct. Even though as you say, the last three presidential terms have helped contribute...A Happy. Healthy Blessed New Year To You....
Rob
1 year ago
Well what do you expect vance? Obama has only continued the failed economic policies of the last three decades (unpaid for tax cuts and government spending). But this time we had a massive fraud to contend with that the government couldn't quielty cover up. And while our government and big finance was busy giving credit to anyone with a pulse, our entire manufacturing base was being destroyed and sent elsewhere. These jobs losses are the new normal. There is no place for folks to work and a magical tax cut or government program isn't going to change those numbers. The losses of jobs merely supports how massive the real estate fraud really was. The only trend that will continue in this country is the massive disparity in wealth creation and protection. I surely wish that was just propoganda or campaign fluff. And finally economists are starting to openly discuss this as a huge, unsustainable problem for our country. But you are right on campaign fluff. I have been studying the candidates (GOP's) economic ideas for quite some time and sadly it's just more of the same...more of the status quo. From an economic perspective, it matters little who is president givent he platforms being pushed today.
Vance
1 year ago
Judy, I like you am mind boggled over how individuals fall for campaign ad fluff. It's amazing to me to hear people go out of their way to excuse Obama for the evil he has done by saying and believing that it is someone's or something else's fault. I believe they call such people in Psychology 101 as Sociopaths. However, they have one excuse and that is the propaganda media. Ever since Obama was elected this country has experienced massive job losses every single month. Every single month Fox News reports the job losses as "Unexpected" or "Job losses are down" when the number is slightly less than the previous month's job losses. Just two days ago, Fox News reported "Again" an "Increase" in job losses than the previous month but continued to say "How Positive the economic outlook is getting". The blatant propaganda is amazing and yet you hear the Obamabots ragging on Fox News. I hope your Christmas and New Years holidays have been great for you and your family. God bless.
joe
1 year ago
The super rich have bribed our politicians using campaign contributions to quietly weave the tenets of the insidious sin of omission into their public pronouncements and campaigns so the voter must take responsibility for the evil outcomes of their choices. How many times have we heard congress tell us they are cutting programs vital to the health and wellbeing of the sick, poor and elderly because that is what the American people want and voted for? God sent his only begotten Son to save us because He loves us and things were getting out of hand, but we refuse to take the lesson and stand up for and save each other. Our political system is teaching our children to act like the Apple employees who could have saved Jayna Murray's life with three key strokes on their cell phones, but why should they be inconvienienced at quitting time. The hidden sin of omission becomes very visible after it is commited. We must be vigilant because it is getting worse not better.
Judy
1 year ago
Vance, good post! I hope our friends remember that when they go to the polls! The people who vote them in must Not be informed? Otherwise, I don't know what! Who in their right mind would vote for a party w/so many professed, yet, non-practicing Catholics; greedy individuals, who have misplaced $..(.if we did that you know where we would be right now!); irresponsible individuals who misplaced guns...(again, if it were us, where would we be?) Why are not these people held accountable??? Responsible??? We would be! Obama and his cronies...he's getting more $ from people!?? To spend and make more Monopoly $??? Why? As a minor in Psy. I say this: (Do Not Watch Ads in all fairness. It is a pollution. Brainwashing. And has a hypnotic effect on the mind). I have come to think that that is the way votes are swayed. By Neg. Ad C. of one, and Pos. of another. All that takes $$$$$$. Pray the Rosary. Blessings...

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