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Wealth Gap In Congress

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Dating back to its inception Congress “has never been a place for paupers (Lightblau, 5).” With each change in the country, the United States Congress rarely deviated away from its long-standing tradition of having wealthy, white men heavily represented in both chambers. Individuals who were elected ranged from “plantation owners, industrialists, ex- Wall Street financiers and Internet executives (Lightblau, 5).” Research conducted shows that “the typical member of Congress is worth more than nine times the typical voter that puts them in Washington (Thompson, 2).” The startling wealth gap explains why there is a disconnect between a Congressperson and its constituents. However, when discussing the wealth gap that is present between the two groups other factors that influence the gap are left out of the discussion. Factors like race, gender, education and other relevant personal factors are aspects that impact the wealth disparity seen among a Congressperson and the average person in the United States. …show more content…

Looking at the composition of the both chambers of Congress they are not young. The profile from the 113th Congress (2013-2104) showed that the average age in Senate was sixty-two and House was fifty-seven (Turner, 315). However, in the United States, the population is roughly thirty-seven (Hutchinson, 10). Due to Congress member’s, they had more time to accumulate wealth than the average person, which would explain why they are wealthy. Furthermore, a congressperson former employment is typically a high-income profession; “most members of Congress are lawyers, public servants/politicians, and business professions. There are also 17 medical doctors in Congress (Hutchinson, 11).” The former high-income jobs of members of Congress also allow them to garnish more wealth and have a higher earning than the public at

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