Here they are, good People. The richest ten politicians in Congress, according to the Huffington Post (1). While the economy has been going down the drain, capitol hill lawmakers have "gained a cumulative $1.4 Billion in personal wealth from 2008 to 2009" (2).
The actual report came from The Hill dot Com where they reported on the 50 wealthiest Congressmen (3). Here are the ten fattest cats in Congress as presented by the Huffington Post (1):
1) Senator John Kerry (D-Mass) - $188.6 Million
2) Representative Darrell Issa (R-California) - $160.1 Million
3) Representative Jane Harman (D-California) - $152.3 Million
4) Senator Jay Rockefeller (D-West Virginia) - $83.7 Million
5) Representative Michael McCaCaul - (R-Texas) - $73.8 Million
6) Senator Mark Warner (D-Virginia) - $70.2 Million
7) Representative Jared Polis (D-Colorado) - $56.5 Million
8) Representative Vern Buchanan (R-Florida) - $53.5 Million
9) Senator Frank Lautenberg (D-New Jersey) - $49.7 Million
10) Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-California) - $46.1 Million
We can firstly note that 7 of 10 of these politicians are Democrats, which explains why even the Democrats have not been all that helpful to the Obama administration, and why none of them have any willingness to fight for meaningful human change in the US.
Of course, these people would have us all believe that they are just regular, ordinary American citizens like the rest of us, only you see, the evidence would have it that they are far more intelligent- their wealth proves that much in America, where wealth overshadows all other measures of personal character.
They would also have us believe that they made all of their millions without a single dishonest thought. What they fail entirely to comprehend is that their world view and their policy-making (paid for by corporate America) is much more consistent with despotism than it is with democracy, and they rule over the most despotic nation on earth. It is difficult to see how that makes us the "greatest nation on earth," now is it not?
Where does it say in the Constitution that in order to be an elected official in the US (where it is possible to buy an elected seat) that only the very wealthy can hold office? Regular, ordinary Americans are not even part of the program anymore. The wealthy do not have more money than the rest of us, they have one hell of a lot more money than the rest of us.
Senator John Kerry is the wealthiest member of Congress and he must be extraordinarily bright, having increased his wealth last year by $20 million (3). He and his heiress wife, Teresa Heinzà "ž Kerry, have reported a combined wealth of "over $1,000,000,000 (3). Yes, that is $1 billion.
Those of us lucky enough to live in Wisconsin ought be proud of our Senator, Russell Feingold, the only member of Congress who is not a millionaire. This fact about our Senator is truly meritorious, because it is highly unlikely that Russell manages to be on the bottom of the heap due to crime and corruption on his part. Who knows about the rest of them?
One thing is for certain. One does not become a millionaire by honoring the values of fairness and equality, the values which our Founding Fathers charged us with honoring in America. That is what we Americans are properly all about - and we end up with the most unfair, mountainous and hazardous playing field on earth?
Everyone with a mind knows that we have made greed and corruption into our postmodern way of life in America. And since the pursuit of wealth has become dependent on this corporate greed and corruption, we are unable to change anything in the US in the interest of the values of democracy.
The neocon Tea Party members are simply captivated by corporate wealth, unconcerned about the greed and corruption, implicitly justified as it is with Old Testament Roman imperial arguments. These people, who consistently vote against their own better interests (and against our better interests),
are psychotic by definition.
The American People currently remain willing to abide the mindless status quo and the massive unemployment, the gift from neocon Republicans. But will they be so willing to do so, when the neocon right wing tries to take away their unemployment compensation (4) and their Social Security benefits, as several neocon politicians have suggested (5)?
READINGS
1) The Top 10 Richest Politicians in Congress
Jeremy Binckes, Huffington Post, September 1, 2010
2) Wealthy Lawmakers Increased Their Riches as U.S. Economy Sputtered in '09
Kevin Bogarus and Barbra Kim, The Hill, August 31, 2010
3) The Hill's 50 Wealthiest List - Slideshow
The Hill, August 31, 2010
4) Why a Civil Society Extends Unemployment Benefits
Robert Reich, August 31, 2010
5) Fire Alan Simpson
Paul Krugman, NY Times, August 25, 2010
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