Poor Citizens, Wealthy Congresspersons, and the US Government

Most of you agreed that there are economic classes in America. Congress (Senate and House of Representatives) has a total of 535 members who are directly elected by you to represent your interests in Washington, DC. While 47% of Congress are millionaires, only 1% of the American population are millionaires. The average Senator is worth $2.5 million and the average house member is worth $746 thousand. And while the economic recession has hurt many Americans over the past few years, the wealthiest members of Congress have continued to get wealthier.

Watch this video and note how the people on the street imagine America to be more equal than it actually is. It turns out that America has an extraordinarily high level of economic inequality -- much greater than any other advanced industrialized country in the world and far more unequal compared to countries like Sweden or Norway.

Here is my point: Wealthy and upper middle class elites are disproportionately represented in Congress. And, a very small number of very wealthy people own the vast majority of income and property in America. Wealthy American citizens exercise greater influence over Congress and own most of the stuff around the country -- poor and working class Americans exercise way less influence over Congress and own way less stuff in America.  

What do you think?

Can a millionaire properly represent your economic interests? Does a millionaire know what it is like to be poor or middle class? Why do you suppose that poor and middle class people continue to elect millionaires to Congress? Could electing millionaires actually hurt poor and middle class Americans? Would America be more economically equal if more poor and working class citizens were elected to political office?

Class politics in America

While Americans are less likely to actively talk about class politics compared to, say, someone in Britain, class politics are still arguably important in America. Here is a link to a NY Times special series called "Class Matters," which delves into class in America in a more nuanced way with graphics and personal stories. Check it out. The article shows how class matters for your life:

Americans of all sorts are awash in luxuries that would have dazzled their grandparents. Social diversity has erased many of the old markers. It has become harder to read people's status in the clothes they wear, the cars they drive, the votes they cast, the god they worship, the color of their skin. The contours of class have blurred; some say they have disappeared.

But class is still a powerful force in American life. Over the past three decades, it has come to play a greater, not lesser, role in important ways. At a time when education matters more than ever, success in school remains linked tightly to class. At a time when the country is increasingly integrated racially, the rich are isolating themselves more and more. At a time of extraordinary advances in medicine, class differences in health and lifespan are wide and appear to be widening.

And new research on mobility, the movement of families up and down the economic ladder, shows there is far less of it than economists once thought and less than most people believe. [Click here for more information on income mobility.] In fact, mobility, which once buoyed the working lives of Americans as it rose in the decades after World War II, has lately flattened out or possibly even declined, many researchers say.    

Her are some personal stories of encountering class. Read a couple. It will only take a few minutes and will possibly relate to something you've experienced in your life. Think about where you are in terms of class politics in America and what this means for your life.

What do you think?

Are class politics important in America? Has your life been impacted by class politics? Have you ever noticed examples of class politics happening to others? If you think class politics are important, how should that influence your voting behavior? If you think that class politics isn't a significant factor in American politics, why? What do you think prevents class politics from impacting American life?