Poverty stricken urchins on both sides of the aisle lol
Via Houston Chronicle:
For the first time in history, a majority of the members of the United States Congress are millionaires.
According to the number crunchers at Slate, who used data from the government watchdog Center for Responsive Politics, 268 of the 534 members of the U.S. House and Senate are worth at least $1 million when the value of their debts is subtracted from the value of their assets.
Nailing down the specific net worth of any particular member of Congress can be an inexact math. Members are required to disclose a range – rather than single specific number – for both their assets and debts. From that, an overall net worth range is calculated, but that number often provides a murky picture of the politician’s actual worth. Roger Williams (R-Texas), for example, is either $4.1 million in debt or worth $30.7 million. Likely, he’s somewhere in between. (See the slideshow above for the net worths of every Texas delegate in the U.S. Congress.)
Here’s what Slate and the CRP were able to decipher:
– Overall, the average member of Congress has a net worth of $1,008,767.
– Senators earn three times as much as Representatives, with an average net worth of $2.9 million to just under $900,000.
– Democrats hold income bragging rights over their Republican rivals, with an average net worth of $1.04 million compared to the GOP members’ $1 million.