[Vision2020] The 1% in Congress

Paul Rumelhart godshatter at yahoo.com
Sat Nov 12 10:14:33 PST 2011


Oh.  I'm sorry to be so dense.  What exactly was Ron's point, then?

Are you making the claim that every one-percenter is trying to "get 
filthier and richer off the backs of middle-income and low-income 
Americans?"  What about the two-percenters?  Are they greedy bastards, 
or is it just the one-percenters?

Corporations can't be one-percenters, can they?  That concept (so I 
thought) relates only to people.

You do understand that if people shifted their targets (of protests) to 
be those known to be involved in unethical business behaviors, I (and 
maybe others like me) would fall in line with you?  As it stands, I 
can't get behind a push to ostracize a minority based solely on income 
levels alone.

Paul

On 11/12/2011 09:49 AM, Tom Hansen wrote:
> Paul, Paul, Paul . . .
>
> Ron Force lists a bunch of rich congressmen, as conceivable members of 
> the one-percenters, and you're all over it like Sitler on an alter boy.
>
> If you take the time to listen and/or read, Paul, you just may attain 
> a fundamental understanding of the 99-percenters' concept.  It is my 
> substantiated opinion that the "one-percenters" are (as I explained 
> twice before) the unimaginably, filthy rich corporations seeking to 
> get filthier and richer off the backs of middle-income and low-income 
> Americans.
>
> Jeesh!
>
> Seeya round town, Moscow.
>
> Tom Hansen
> Moscow, Idaho
>
> "If not us, who?
> If not now, when?"
>
> - Unknown
>
> On Nov 12, 2011, at 9:09 AM, Paul Rumelhart <godshatter at yahoo.com 
> <mailto:godshatter at yahoo.com>> wrote:
>
>>
>> This kind of thing is a good illustration of what concerns me about 
>> this whole 1% / 99% metric.  Here is a list of people who are in 
>> Congress who have a lot of money.  So what?  There is no indication 
>> as to how these people got their money.  No condemnation of certain 
>> Congressmen because they passed legislation that directly helped 
>> their bottom line.  No effort to separate the wheat from the chaff.  
>> How many of these people came into their wealth and decided they 
>> wanted to do something good with it but also understand the idea 
>> behind the phrase "free milk and a cow"?  The only thing we can say 
>> is that they are doing well.
>>
>> it looks vaguely like a target list, frankly.  What ever happened to 
>> the good old American Dream(tm)?
>>
>> What we should be focused on is unmitigated greed.  It exists in all 
>> levels of society, not just in the most wealthy.  Condemn the laws 
>> that encourage it, such as the ability of shareholders to sue if a 
>> company is making a decision that affects short-term profits in favor 
>> of long-term growth or the various tax dodges written into the tax 
>> code to benefit specific companies over their competition (making for 
>> a non-free trade market).  There are plenty other examples of 
>> outright greed that we could be focusing on.  Instead, we are 
>> focusing on net wealth as some kind of metric of Good vs. Evil.  
>> Sure, the wealthy could be doing more to help the poor, but so could 
>> each one of us.
>>
>> While we're on the subject of the seven deadly sins, why not take a 
>> close look at "envy" while we're at it?
>>
>> Paul
>>
>> On 11/11/2011 04:34 PM, Ron Force wrote:
>>> *Table 2: All members of Congress with average net worth above $9 
>>> million, from 2009*
>>> Name 	Minimum Wealth 	Maximum Wealth 	Average 	Chamber
>>> Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) 	$156,050,022 	$451,100,000 	$303,575,011 
>>> House
>>> John Kerry (D-Mass.) 	$182,755,534 	$294,869,059 	$238,812,296 	Senate
>>> Mark Warner (D-Va.) 	$65,692,210 	$283,077,995 	$174,385,102 	Senate
>>> Jared Polis (D-Colo.) 	$36,694,140 	$285,123,996 	$160,909,068 	House
>>> Herb Kohl (D-Wis.) 	$89,358,027 	$231,245,995 	$160,302,011 	Senate
>>> Vernon Buchanan (R-Fla.) 	-$69,434,661 	$366,180,982 	$148,373,160 
>>> House
>>> Michael McCaul (R-Texas) 	$73,685,086 	$201,537,000 	$137,611,043 
>>> House
>>> James E. Risch (R-Idaho) 	$38,936,114 	$179,131,990 	$109,034,052 
>>> Senate
>>> Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.) 	$61,446,018 	$136,218,002 	$98,832,010 
>>> Senate
>>> Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) 	$64,210,256 	$125,529,976 
>>> $94,870,116 	Senate
>>> Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) 	$46,055,250 	$108,109,018 
>>> $77,082,134 	Senate
>>> Frank R. Lautenberg (D-N.J.) 	$49,083,204 	$104,690,018 
>>> $76,886,611 	Senate
>>> Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) 	-$7,356,915 	$124,229,990 	$58,436,537 	House
>>> Gary Miller (R-Calif.) 	$19,365,053 	$84,302,000 	$51,833,526 	House
>>> Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) 	$9,778,047 	$91,656,998 	$50,717,522 	Senate
>>> Diane Lynn Black (R-Tenn.) 	$14,673,049 	$84,145,990 	$49,409,519 
>>> House
>>> Rodney Frelinghuysen (R-N.J.) 	$19,898,179 	$67,697,000 
>>> $43,797,589 	House
>>> Rick Berg (R-N.D.) 	$19,347,579 	$58,981,451 	$39,164,515 	House
>>> Nita M. Lowey (D-N.Y.) 	$14,900,036 	$63,125,000 	$39,012,518 	House
>>> Kenny Marchant (R-Texas) 	$13,303,385 	$63,106,351 	$38,204,868 	House
>>> Denny Rehberg (R-Mont.) 	$6,598,014 	$56,244,997 	$31,421,505 	House
>>> Scott Rigell (R-Va.) 	$11,618,078 	$48,200,000 	$29,909,039 	House
>>> Olympia J. Snowe (R-Maine) 	$12,556,055 	$44,669,000 	$28,612,527 
>>> Senate
>>> James B. Renacci (R-Ohio) 	$17,571,131 	$39,297,044 	$28,434,087 	House
>>> Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) 	$11,522,909 	$44,209,871 	$27,866,390 
>>> Senate
>>> Carolyn B. Maloney (D-N.Y.) 	$7,045,017 	$41,899,994 	$24,472,505 
>>> House
>>> Tom Petri (R-Wis.) 	$5,111,026 	$43,765,999 	$24,438,512 	House
>>> John Campbell (R-Calif.) 	$9,227,063 	$37,282,000 	$23,254,531 	House
>>> Steve Pearce (R-N.M.) 	$8,368,014 	$37,945,000 	$23,156,507 	House
>>> Richard L Hanna (R-N.Y.) 	$10,960,117 	$33,276,000 	$22,118,058 	House
>>> Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) 	$15,681,206 	$27,543,006 	$21,612,106 	Senate
>>> Blake Farenthold (R-Texas) 	$10,359,086 	$31,381,997 	$20,870,541 
>>> House
>>> John Hoeven (R-N.D.) 	-$12,829,960 	$52,851,999 	$20,011,019 	Senate
>>> Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) 	$7,102,036 	$32,756,000 	$19,929,018 	Senate
>>> Kay R. Hagan (D-N.C.) 	$3,549,596 	$33,149,981 	$18,349,788 	Senate
>>> F. James Sensenbrenner Jr. (R-Wis.) 	$14,990,621 	$20,923,567 
>>> $17,957,094 	House
>>> Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) 	$1,056,768 	$34,566,596 	$17,811,682 	Senate
>>> Michael F Bennet (D-Colo.) 	$6,217,020 	$27,780,000 	$16,998,510 
>>> Senate
>>> Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) 	$10,447,125 	$23,082,001 	$16,764,563 	Senate
>>> Nan Hayworth (R-N.Y.) 	$9,542,219 	$23,259,000 	$16,400,609 	House
>>> Fred Upton (R-Mich.) 	$7,010,173 	$25,651,000 	$16,330,586 	House
>>> Rosa L. DeLauro (D-Conn.) 	$5,429,018 	$26,697,997 	$16,063,507 	House
>>> John McCain (R-Ariz.) 	$9,769,247 	$22,072,994 	$15,921,120 	Senate
>>> Lloyd Doggett (D-Texas) 	$7,790,095 	$20,949,999 	$14,370,047 	House
>>> Cynthia Marie Lummis (R-Wyo.) 	$4,939,028 	$23,591,999 
>>> $14,265,513 	House
>>> Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M.) 	$6,393,295 	$20,874,000 	$13,633,647 	Senate
>>> Shelley Berkley (D-Nev.) 	$6,593,088 	$20,654,033 	$13,623,560 	House
>>> Jackie Speier (D-Calif.) 	$4,561,077 	$20,503,000 	$12,532,038 	House
>>> Tom Price (R-Ga.) 	$7,653,606 	$17,121,588 	$12,387,597 	House
>>> Ben Nelson (D-Neb.) 	$8,010,107 	$16,623,001 	$12,316,554 	Senate
>>> Trent Franks (R-Ariz.) 	$4,100,005 	$20,250,000 	$12,175,002 	House
>>> Randy Neugebauer (R-Texas) 	$6,126,070 	$18,078,998 	$12,102,534 	House
>>> Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.) 	$6,407,085 	$17,427,999 	$11,917,542 	Senate
>>> Rob Portman (R-Ohio) 	$5,544,075 	$17,468,999 	$11,506,537 	Senate
>>> David Dreier (R-Calif.) 	$5,264,092 	$17,715,000 	$11,489,546 	House
>>> David B. McKinley (R-W.Va.) 	$5,216,060 	$14,316,000 	$9,766,030 	House
>>> John A. Yarmuth (D-Ky.) 	$2,850,009 	$16,349,999 	$9,600,004 	House
>>> John Fleming (R-La.) 	$2,153,834 	$16,797,770 	$9,475,802 	House
>>> Jon Runyan (R-N.J.) 	$5,000,034 	$13,674,999 	$9,337,516 	House
>>>
>>> Source: Center for Responsive Politics 
>>> <http://www.opensecrets.org/pfds/index.php>
>>>
>>>
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