Thread: Is Our Congress a path to individual wealth ??wa

I don't know if there's something like that available, but a study of Congressional portfolios shows that they increase in value much faster than the indexes. Insider trading is legal for Congressmen.

I don't have any statistics, so anything I say would be a random guess. What I do know is that getting into Congress is a guaranteed path to wealth in ways you don't mean. In other words, your post implies to me that you mean they get rich directly from being in Congress, presumably as a result of payoffs (since their salary, while certainly good, is not in the realm of "rich" except to Democrats). The true payoff, as I understand it, is actually after you retire. That is because very few Congressmen are "big shots." Like, of the hundreds of Congressmen, probably twenty of them are "big shots." But after you retire, you get to become a lobbyist, where you make bankola. Also, quite a few Congressmen and women manage to coincidentally marry into wealth, like John Kerry and (I think, but I'd have to double check, but I don't care about throwing this out) Nancy Pelosi.

You can find approximate net worth for Congressmembers here: Net Worth, 2009 | Personal Finance Disclosure | OpenSecrets

Approximate, because the reporting rules don't require actual value figures, but rather allow reporting within a range.

Matt

Right, but that doesn't show how being in Congress affected the wealth. In other words, if someone came to Congress as a billionaire and left as a billionaire, for someone to get outraged about that would be pretty stupid.

Originally Posted by C-B-M

I don't have any statistics, so anything I say would be a random guess. What I do know is that getting into Congress is a guaranteed path to wealth in ways you don't mean. In other words, your post implies to me that you mean they get rich directly from being in Congress, presumably as a result of payoffs (since their salary, while certainly good, is not in the realm of "rich" except to Democrats). The true payoff, as I understand it, is actually after you retire. That is because very few Congressmen are "big shots." Like, of the hundreds of Congressmen, probably twenty of them are "big shots." But after you retire, you get to become a lobbyist, where you make bankola. Also, quite a few Congressmen and women manage to coincidentally marry into wealth, like John Kerry and (I think, but I'd have to double check, but I don't care about throwing this out) Nancy Pelosi.

You forgot John (Ketchup) McCain.

Originally Posted by wooyarn

You forgot John (Ketchup) McCain.

I believe you haev McCain and Kerry confused.

John Kerry married Theresa Heinz (of ketchup company fame).

McCain married Cindy Lou Hensley (daughter of beer magnate Jim Hensely)

Originally Posted by MattInFla

I believe you haev McCain and Kerry confused.

John Kerry married Theresa Heinz (of ketchup company fame).

McCain married Cindy Lou Hensley (daughter of beer magnate Jim Hensely)

You're right, I had them confused.