American Congressmen are Richer and Richer

While Americans have gotten constantly poorer since 2004, the trend is the opposite in the Capitol, where elected officials are richer and richer. That’s what has been revealed by an investigation published by the New York Times, based on data from the Center for Responsive Politics, which shows that 250 of the 535 members of the American congress are millionaires. If the place has always been populated by mostly wealthy people, the gap with the rest of Americans has never, in contrast, been as distinct.

The median net income of representatives and senators peaks at $913,000 (€705,000) and does not stop increasing, while that of Americans in general continually decreases and today verges on $100,000 (€77,000). More surprising, the income of Congress has increased 15 percent in seven years, a period during which the income of the wealthiest Americans has, for its part, stagnated. For all other Americans, the median income lowered 8 percent for this same period. If this wealth gap had been able to go unnoticed under normal circumstances, during an economic crisis, it’s shocking.

Among the millionaire American representatives, 10 of them even have a fortune estimated to be more than $100 million. There is Darrel Issa, a Republican representative from California, who possesses close to $300 million, according to an article from CBSNews. Hot on his heels is John Kerry, the 2004 Democratic presidential candidate defeated by George Bush. His wallet holds close to $240 million.

Thus, if certain people earn their living more than well, the others like Peter Stark, a Democrat elected in California, who owes $11 million, have debts to pay back. It’s one of the reasons that pushed several Democrats in Congress to violently oppose a proposal of Nancy Pelosi’s, their leader among the representatives: She herself, at the head of $196 million, wanted to impose a freeze of salaries for members of Congress.

To try to explain how the officials are able to continue to get richer during these times of economic sluggishness, certain ways are suggested. Certain analysts named by the New York Times estimate that it’s quite simply because politics speaks above all to well-off people. During the 2010 elections, the cost of a victorious campaign or the Senate rose on average to $10 million and to $1.4 million for a place within the House of Representatives. In fact, only people who already have substantial means are able to go into politics.

Once in Congress, the official touches an annual base salary of $174,000 (which has increased 10 percent since 2004, or a little less than inflation). Numerous bonuses are added to the base salary that the average citizen does not have access to: seniority bonuses, retirement pensions and social security in gold.

Washington also explains that once they are in place, senators and representatives enjoy a network and new opportunities to increase their earnings. The data harvested by the Center for Responsive Politics show that the officials have excellent results in the stock markets. According to researchers from the University of Georgia, who have studied the issue, these performances would be the fruit of an “important advantage of information” thanks to their positions.

While President Barack Obama has just promulgated a law prolonging tax relief until the end of February for $160 million in salaries and unemployment payments, the pit that separates members of Congress and the rest of the population has never been deeper. According to several recent polls, only about 13 percent of Americans are satisfied with the work conducted by Congress; 83 percent disapproves of it.