Who said crime doesn't pay ?

[wvrevy]

Ever think you were in the wrong line of work ?
-----------------------

Millionaires fill US Congress halls

WASHINGTON (AFP) - The US Congress, the domed bastion of democracy in the capital of capitalism, abounds with deep-pocketed politicians whose fortunes have made the legislative branch of government a millionaire's club.

In the 435-member House of Representatives, 123 elected officials earned at least one million dollars last year, according to recently released financial records made public each year.

Next door in the ornate Senate, whose blue-blooded pedigree includes a Kennedy and a Rockefeller, one in three people are millionaires.

By comparison, less than one percent of Americans make seven-figure incomes.

The American greenback is bipartisan, filling the pockets of liberal Democrats and conservative Republicans without discrimination.

Liberal stalwart and Massachusetts Senator Ted Kennedy, brother of the late John Kennedy, disclosed that he has 45 million dollars in the bank. West Virginia Senator John Rockefeller, also a Democrat, reported to have earned 80 million dollars.

The Senate is also home to Democratic presidential hopeful John Kerry (news - web sites), whose wife Teresa Heinz inherited 500 million dollars when her previous husband, senator John Heinz, of the ketchup empire, died in a plane crash in 1991.

The Senate has always been home to the country's richest elements, and the rising cost of election campaigns has led both parties to encourage self-sufficient candidates to run for public office, boosting the number of wealthy elected officials, analysts say.

"There tend to be more rich people in the Senate," said Richard Baker, the Senate's historian. "It has always be the case."

Representatives and senators tend to hold lucrative jobs -- attorneys, doctors and company executives.

"Members of Congress are recruited not from (an) ordinary cross section of America occupations," said Thomas Mann, a Congress expert at the Brookings Institution, a Washington think tank.

"There has been an increasing tendency for parties to seek out individuals who can self-finance at least part of their campaigns, and that has over time led to more wealthy people serving in Congress," Mann said.

For instance, New Jersey's Jon Corzine, a former chief executive of Wall Street giant Goldman Sachs, spent more than 60 million dollars, a record, in his successful senate bid in 2000.

The richest person in the House of Representatives is California Democrat Jane Harman, who reported assets worth more than 160 million dollars. Next in line is Amo Houghton, a New York Republican who reported 150 million dollars.

In the Senate, Majority Leader Bill Frist, a Tennessee Republican and heart surgeon, unveiled a fortune worth 45 million dollars.

His Senate foe, Minority Leader Tom Daschle of South Dakota, is among the "poorest" officials.

Daschle disclosed earnings of less than one million dollars in addition to his 171,900-dollar a year Senate salary. Lower ranked senators are paid 154,700 dollars a year.


In the House, Bill Thomas, the Republican chairman of the powerful Ways and Means Committee, which has oversight of taxation (or the pockets of average Americans), has one of the most modest financial disclosures.

The California Republican reported no assets or investments, just his 157,000-dollar House salary and the value of his home.

 

[Eeyore1954]

Hooray for success (or inheirtance) -- either way, congrats to those who made it into the "Millionaires Club". Money may not buy happiness, but it may be able to rent some time with it.

 

[shortbun]

Who else would run for govt office? Certainly not a poor man,
the cost of an apartment in D.C. alone along with a home in
your state overtakes the salaries of these politicians. The meek
shall inherit the earth but who's gonna run it for them?
I know that's a fairly crass comment but I've always thought it was funny and it really fits here.

 

[wvrevy]

Wasn't it Mondale who, when running for president, said he was doing it because he needed the money ? Something about his financial statements showing that he really did.....was too young at the time to have really registered it

And I certainly understand that you almost have to be wealthy before even getting into to politics at that level....Still, it makes an interesting contrast when the politicians are trying to tell us how much they identify with the "common man"

 

[MICKEY88]

Originally posted by wvrevy
....Still, it makes an interesting contrast when the politicians are trying to tell us how much they identify with the "common man"

of course they identify with the common man..who do you think washes their car and mows their lawn..

 

[wvrevy]

Originally posted by MICKEY88
of course they identify with the common man..who do you think washes their car and mows their lawn..

Yeah, but you don't think they actually associate with those people, do you ? That's what they have assistants for

Actually, there's another thing that bugs me about congressman and senators...My senator, Bob Byrd, has spent a helluva lot more time in Washington than he has in West Virginia...I mean, he's been a senator roughly as long as there's been a senate (I think his original district was determined to be in West Virginia by someone in Lincoln's cabinet). How is he supposed to have a clue what I, as a West Virginian, am facing on a regular basis as a constituent of his ?

 

[Eeyore1954]

Wowzers ... who knew that becoming or being wealthy (either by hard work, marriage or inheritance) in America today is a crime? Thank goodness for the DISboards ... otherwise, this information may have remained a secret for another century.

 

[wvrevy]

Originally posted by Eeyore1954
Wowzers ... who knew that becoming or being wealthy (either by hard work, marriage or inheritance) in America today is a crime? Thank goodness for the DISboards ... otherwise, this information may have remained a secret for another century.

Feeling a little slow today, Steve ? I mean...everyone else seems to have gotten that it was a joke....Try to keep up with the class, will you ?

 

[Eeyore1954]

Originally posted by wvrevy
How is he supposed to have a clue what I, as a West Virginian, am facing on a regular basis as a constituent of his ?

Just a thought ... you could call, write, or e-mail him. Or take some time, visit Washington and schedule an appointment to talk to him in person.

I regularly e-mail the senators from IL. Sen. Fitzgerald rarely responds, except with an automated or canned reply. But Sen. Durbin (who happens to be a Democrat) always responds with a somewhat personalized letter or e-mail -- personalized in that it addresses the specific question/concern I raised when I contacted him. I've been very impressed by that.

 

[wvrevy]

Originally posted by Eeyore1954
Just a thought ... you could call, write, or e-mail him. Or take some time, visit Washington and schedule an appointment to talk to him in person.

I regularly e-mail the senators from IL. Sen. Fitzgerald rarely responds, except with an automated or canned reply. But Sen. Durbin (who happens to be a Democrat) always responds with a somewhat personalized letter or e-mail -- personalized in that it addresses the specific question/concern I raised when I contacted him. I've been very impressed by that.

Hey, a serious post ! Congratulations !

Yes, I have done those things (e-mail and phone), with both Senator Byrd and Senator Rockefeller (Uncle Jay, as I like to call him ), as well as Congresswoman Capito...I've gotten responses from all three as well....Actually laughed pretty hard when getting a letter from Capito that was signed "Shelley"...Thought I'd gotten a letter from her 12 year old daughter

 

[Eeyore1954]

Originally posted by wvrevy
Actually, there's another thing that bugs me about congressman and senators...My senator, Bob Byrd, has spent a helluva lot more time in Washington than he has in West Virginia...

Gee, WV did elect him to be a senator and the last time I looked the Senate was located in Washington, DC. Unless Sen. Byrd has managed to have it renamed in his honor and moved to WV?

 

[Eeyore1954]

Originally posted by wvrevy
Yes, I have done those things (e-mail and phone), with both Senator Byrd and Senator Rockefeller (Uncle Jay, as I like to call him ), as well as Congresswoman Capito...I've gotten responses from all three as well....

So you communicated with them and they responded. Call me slow (which you already have, so we have that insult out of the way), but I don't understand what you're complaining about? They are elected officials, serve in the Congress, which is located in Washington, so they spend the majority of their time there. You are able to communicate your concerns to them and they respond.

Is this just another "whine & moan" attention-seeking thread?

 

[wvrevy]

Originally posted by Eeyore1954
So you communicated with them and they responded. Call me slow (which you already have, so we have that insult out of the way), but I don't understand what you're complaining about? They are elected officials, serve in the Congress, which is located in Washington, so they spend the majority of their time there. You are able to communicate your concerns to them and they respond.

Is this just another "whine & moan" attention-seeking thread?

Do you have to work to be this annoying, or does it come naturally ?

My point, since it apparently wasn't clear enough, is that it is impossible to TELL someone exactly what it is like to live in a certain place. Yes, you can weigh in on various issues, but a person that's spent the vast majority of his life in Washington simply can't understand what it's like to live in his home district. It's just not possible to communicate.

It's the reason why I'm in favor of term limits on a national scale.

Now...If you can respond to this without acting like a spoiled child, I'll be happy to continue this conversation...

 

[Eeyore1954]

Originally posted by wvrevy
Do you have to work to be this annoying, or does it come naturally ?

Do you always have to resort to childish insults because someone doesn't agree with you?

My point, since it apparently wasn't clear enough, is that it is impossible to TELL someone exactly what it is like to live in a certain place. Yes, you can weigh in on various issues, but a person that's spent the vast majority of his life in Washington simply can't understand what it's like to live in his home district. It's just not possible to communicate.

It's the reason why I'm in favor of term limits on a national scale.

Not possible to communicate? But you just said you wrote and received responses. These elected officials do their work in Washington, DC. So, they must live there, since it'd be absurd to expect them to commute to work each day.

But even if they spent upwards of 50% of their time in WV, I'm afraid you would complain then that they are not spending enough time in Washington attending to the business they were elected to do.

They are caught in a vicious no-win cycle with you, because no matter what they do, you choose not to be satisfied. But this is America and you can choose to be anyway you want to be. I simply don't see the point in complaining about it when it is, after all, a personal choice.

Now...If you can respond to this without acting like a spoiled child, I'll be happy to continue this conversation...

Maybe you could start by setting a good example??

 

[wvrevy]

You know what, I've lost patience with trying to communicate with someone who insults me, then tries to play it off like I've done something to them to start it. Your very first post on this was to be a smart aleck, and you've been insulting in every post since.

I have no problem talking / debating the other conservatives on this board, but for some reason you seem to always want to pick a fight. Quite frankly, you just aren't worth the agrivation anymore.

 

[Eeyore1954]

Originally posted by wvrevy
You know what, I've lost patience with trying to communicate with someone who insults me, then tries to play it off like I've done something to them to start it. Your very first post on this was to be a smart aleck, and you've been insulting in every post since.

I have no problem talking / debating the other conservatives on this board, but for some reason you seem to always want to pick a fight. Quite frankly, you just aren't worth the agrivation anymore.

Oh well ... I'm not because it's actually . Too bad you feel and . Go have a and chill out. I'll be here to when you get back.

 

[wvrevy]

Thanks, but I'm not interested...If I want that level of debate, I'll go talk to my 3 year old

See ya'

 

[Eeyore1954]

Originally posted by wvrevy
Thanks, but I'm not interested...If I want that level of debate, I'll go talk to my 3 year old

See ya'

Here's hoping you set a better example for/with her than you do on here.

 

[wvrevy]

Originally posted by Eeyore1954
Here's hoping you set a better example for/with her than you do on here.

Nice....I knew you were low, but making comments about someones kids lowers you to previously untold depths...Congrats !

 

[Eeyore1954]

Originally posted by wvrevy
Nice....I knew you were low, but making comments about someones kids lowers you to previously untold depths...Congrats !

And you call my reading comprehension into question!