…Of the wealthy, by the wealthy, and for the wealthy

9th January 2012   ·   0 Comments

Louisiana Congressman John Flemming wants your sympathy. He says that Obama’s proposed tax cuts on the rich would really hurt poor folk like him.

In an interview on MSNBC he was asked about the $6 million profit of his businesses last year, he said, “the amount that I have to reinvest in my business and feed my family is more like $600,000 of that $6.3 million, and so by the time I feed my family I have, maybe, $400,000 left over to invest in new locations, upgrade my locations, buy more equipment…”

Let’s pass the hat for poor John.

Some facts should speak for themselves. According to recent reports:

• Half of all Congresspeople are millionaires

• Their median net worth is ten times that of most households until you adjust for inflation and exclude home equity

• Then their net worth jumps to 35 times the average: $725k vs $20.5K

• The gap has grown wider in recent years

• The net worth of Congress has risen 23.6% in the past three years alone

• The average successful House race costs $1.4 million to stage

• The average Senate campaign is almost $10 million

• Candidates are allowed to donate as much as they want to their own effort

Some questions deserve to be answered. For example:

• Why would a millionaire spend over a million dollars to win a job that only pays $174,000 per year for four years? There have always been accusations of politicians profiting from their position, through contacts, kickbacks and using privileged information to trade stock.

• How can the average John Q. Citizen have the time or the money to do the travel and advertising to compete for a federal office? You can’t even raise money without name recognition.

• How are these people supposed to represent you when some presidential candidates don’t even know what the minimum wage is? How is their perspective on unemployment, health care, wages, housing, and law enforcement compatible with that of the people in your community?

• Is it reasonable to expect a Congress full of wealthy people to enact laws that will close the gap between the rich and the poor?

• Does any entity or group in this nation possess the will to bring about a day when the majority of US citizens will have their share of representation on the nation’s highest decision-making bodies?

• Do the words “taxation without representation” have a different meaning today?

This article was originally published in the January 9, 2012 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper