The Median Net Worth Of A Member Of Congress Is Five Times Higher Than The Median American Household

[katty]

more:

http://thinkprogress.org/special/2011/11/01/358337/the-median-net-worth-of-a-member-of-congress-is-five-times-higher-than-the-median-american-household/


The Median Net Worth Of A Member Of Congress Is Five Times Higher Than The Median American Household

By Zaid Jilani on Nov 1, 2011 at 2:15 pm

Part of the reason the richest 1 percent of Americans have captured our politics is because they are able to finance political races, issue campaigns, and lobbyists.

But the other reason some of the richest Americans have been able to control our politics is because they themselves have gotten elected to positions of power at a much higher rate than the rest of us.

As Roll Call points out today, the estimated median net worth for a member of Congress in 2010 was $513,000 (this is strictly an estimate as assets are reported in ranges).

[teddy51]

1. So the big question becomes, what is the solution to this and how can it be

accomplished?

[katty]

2. no less than a paradigm shift in the body politic - grassroots

demands, constant pressure from the people.

[teddy51]

3. It's certainly going to be a long hard and probably tearful grind for those that

are down on their luck in this country. People that are out of work and that have lost their houses will be at there wits end. If Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid get axed, they are going to be hurting a hell of allot more.

[katty]

4. yes, much suffering already-no pain, no gain - most of us

have been affected and this will continue for all of us in one way or another, or even worse in multiple layers of our daily living. I am connecting with neighborhood, family, friends and endeavoring to come up with alternative plans for community, sharing resources, food gardens, and even education/care of children as a group-we are all going to need to pool the resources that we have available during this tremendous shift. There is no help coming from the government and certainly none from the financial sectors-but better to go down fighting or eventually emerge with something better-but it's a long haul.

[teddy51]

5. Sounds good, and I do see a return to people helping people big time during these times.

I think we may see a return to commune type living in the years to come, where people are forced to live off the land as in previous times.

[katty]

6. yes, i am see that as well - concur about the communal living