Wed
Dec 28 2011
11:41 am
millionaires in congress
By: rht

In his December Washington Report, Congressman Duncan claims that less than 10% of House members are what "anyone would classify as wealthy" and that the percentage would be "a little higher" in the Senate. But NYT reports that almost half the members of congress are millionaires.

Topics:
trobinson's picture

Wow, I don't know what he

Submitted by trobinson on Wed, 2011/12/28 - 1:05pm.

Wow, I don't know what he considers wealthy. That 10% that he's talking about have wealth of tens or even hundreds of millions of $$. Over half have assets of $1 million or more. That's wealthy in my neighborhood.

In fact, the members of congress have gotten richer as the rest of the country's median net worth has slipped or stagnated at $100,000 while members of congress have grown to over $900,000!

Check out a better graphic than NYT's here.

redmondkr's picture

If I recall correctly, John

Submitted by redmondkr on Wed, 2011/12/28 - 1:17pm.

If I recall correctly, John McCain declared the threshold for rich as about $5M. I believe a difficulty in remembering how many homes you own starts somewhere above that figure too.

I'll have to check with my staff and get back with you on that one.

Mark Harmon's picture

Column topic

Submitted by Mark Harmon on Wed, 2011/12/28 - 2:05pm.

I wrote a community column debunking Congressman's Duncan claim hours after receiving his newsletter. I sent it to the editor the next day. Unfortunately, my next column is not scheduled until mid-January. It could be moved up.

gonzone's picture

Debunking Duncan must be akin

Submitted by gonzone on Wed, 2011/12/28 - 3:51pm.

Debunking Duncan must be akin to shooting fish in a barrel.

michael kaplan's picture

Mark, have you thought about

Submitted by michael kaplan on Wed, 2011/12/28 - 5:55pm.

Mark, have you thought about running against Duncan in the next election? It seems to me you could mount a campaign on that one issue alone, the definition of who is rich ...

fischbobber's picture

I second the nomination

Submitted by fischbobber on Wed, 2011/12/28 - 10:53pm.

I believe the congressman can be defeated using polite civil logic and facts. His rants about the far left (you know, those of us that believe in a living wage and fair banking practices) and radical environmentalists (you know, those of us that breathe and drink water) are starting to get to me.

R. Neal's picture

Great idea. Just tell me

Submitted by R. Neal on Wed, 2011/12/28 - 10:56pm.

Great idea. Just tell me where to send a check.

rht's picture

duncan's comments on this

Submitted by rht on Fri, 2011/12/30 - 9:56am.

duncan's comments on this issue could be used to illustrate a weakness in how he approaches other issues: he is short on facts and long on attitude. His anti-environmental attitude can be difficult for voters to evaluate, since the facts are so complex, but its pretty darn simple and clear when he tries to tell voters that millionaires aren't rich.

i'm looking forward to MH's article and candidacy.

Treehouse's picture

Please

Submitted by Treehouse on Thu, 2011/12/29 - 9:40am.

Mark do it!

EricLykins's picture

I would get excited about Ben

Submitted by EricLykins on Thu, 2011/12/29 - 10:35am.

I would get excited about Ben Nelson retiring, but those that are the problem are often more of a problem after they leave Congress.

Retiring Sen. Ben Nelson would fetch top dollar on K Street

B Harmon's picture

Duncan responds!

Submitted by B Harmon on Sun, 2012/02/12 - 9:19am.

So here is what our Congressman has to say about Mark's column.

(link...)

jmcnair's picture

Hunh?

Submitted by jmcnair on Sun, 2012/02/12 - 3:35pm.

So, B, was this Mark? (replies to your linked Letters page)

markdharmon#252856 writes:
(This comment was removed by the site staff.)

And what was so egregious that it had to be removed?

John

B Harmon's picture

yes

Submitted by B Harmon on Sun, 2012/02/12 - 3:43pm.

I think it was the links to the sites he quotes that caused it to be removed. He re-posted it without the links. Let us see if that satisfies the weekend monitor.

Comment viewing options

Select your preferred way to display the comments and click "Save settings" to activate your changes.

TN Progressive

TN Politics

Knox TN Today

Local TV News

News Sentinel

    State News

    Wire Reports

    Lost Medicaid Funding

    To date, the failure to expand Medicaid/TennCare has cost the State of Tennessee ? in lost federal funding. (Source)

    Search and Archives