BS: Rich Senators

Subject: BS: Rich Senators
From: GUEST,DutchGal
Date: 14 Jun 04 - 05:46 PM

Ever wonder why politicians seem so out of touch with the common man?

Story here

Subject: RE: BS: Rich Senators
From: Peace
Date: 14 Jun 04 - 06:10 PM

It's so nice to see writers making a living at their craft/art. And real estate investors. Yep.

Subject: RE: BS: Rich Senators
From: Bill D
Date: 14 Jun 04 - 06:12 PM

no surprise...how many plumbers can afford to run for BIG office? It is a constant struggle to find someone with some understanding and concern for 'the common man'.

Remember the Golden Rule

"He who had the gold makes the rules"

Subject: RE: BS: Rich Senators
From: DougR
Date: 14 Jun 04 - 06:42 PM

Oh I don't know, Bill, there probably are times when the White House can use a good plumber.

DougR

Subject: RE: BS: Rich Senators
From: Gareth
Date: 14 Jun 04 - 06:53 PM

Hmmm ! - A question in mind is given the US of A system can you become a Senator unless you are well heeled.

On the literature side - Well don't buy the books.

Gareth

Subject: RE: BS: Rich Senators
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 14 Jun 04 - 09:45 PM

funny, Doug!

Subject: RE: BS: Rich Senators
From: Hrothgar
Date: 15 Jun 04 - 07:06 AM

I seem to remember that the Republican Party has had plumbers before, Doug.

Subject: RE: BS: Rich Senators
From: DougR
Date: 15 Jun 04 - 01:54 PM

Hrothgar: I was wondering if anyone would get the connection, Hrothgar. Good man (I guess you are a man!)

DougR

Subject: RE: BS: Rich Senators
From: GUEST,DutchGal
Date: 15 Jun 04 - 02:34 PM

The US has had many elected officials who came from hardscrabble beginnings. I guess those days are gone and now the elections belong to those who can buy the media.

Subject: RE: BS: Rich Senators
From: GUEST,Blackcatter
Date: 15 Jun 04 - 03:08 PM

People are still being elected who came from the lower classes - problem is they've left that behind a long time before running. CLinton, I beleive, was an example. Certainly his family had no where near the wealth of the Bushs. Reagan, too starter off finanncially humble.

But it does take wealth to run for an high office. Ironically enough, one mostly has to be well-off so that those who would back a candidate will take notice of him or her.

Subject: RE: BS: Rich Senators
From: kendall
Date: 15 Jun 04 - 07:34 PM

Our Senator George Mitchell wasn't rich when he went to Washington, and he wasn't rich when he left it either.

Subject: RE: BS: Rich Senators
From: Bobert
Date: 15 Jun 04 - 08:27 PM

Maine don't count, Kendall. All you folks is honest... and poor...

I'd tell ya to get with the program but someday the US may need a model state to restructure itself after and so... stya just the way you folks are, thank you...

And, Dougie. Yer right. The White House is in desperate need of some plumbers... The joint is severely backed up. Problem is that Diebold ain't the right company for the job... Maybe what the White House needs is to have the roof removed so the crap can spill out the top.

Bobert

Subject: RE: BS: Rich Senators
From: GUEST,Larry K
Date: 15 Jun 04 - 11:45 PM

Bobert:

I believe Haliburton could do the job for you.   And they would probably quote you a good price too.

It is a shame about all the rich politicians...on both sides.    Then, to top it off they all tell us they are for the commom person.   Do we really believe it when a multi millionaire trial lawyer like John Edwards tells us he is one of us.   Oh my god- is this some kind of really show and all of you are multi millionaires and I am the only one not in on the gag.

Subject: RE: BS: Rich Senators
From: dianavan
Date: 16 Jun 04 - 12:08 AM

Its pretty obvious that senators do not hold their positions to serve the electorate but to protect their investments.

Subject: RE: BS: Rich Senators
From: John P
Date: 16 Jun 04 - 09:40 AM

Kendal,
I greatly admire Senator Mitchell, but anyone with a senator's retirement benefits would be considered fabulously wealthy by a vast majority of people in this world.

John Peekstok

Subject: RE: BS: Rich Senators
From: kendall
Date: 16 Jun 04 - 01:56 PM

Sure, but George doesn't live in the rest of the world, he lives in this one where he pays the same price for a loafof bread as Mrs.John Kerry who is worth 500 million dollars.

Subject: RE: BS: Rich Senators
From: GUEST
Date: 17 Jun 04 - 12:07 AM

Those pigs should take an oath of poverty before running. Give all their wealth to charity - then they'd be honest, then they could run.

Subject: RE: BS: Rich Senators
From: Blackcatter
Date: 17 Jun 04 - 12:11 AM

Not to say anything bad about Mitchell, who I respect, but when do you think was the last time he bought a loaf of bread?

Subject: RE: BS: Rich Senators
From: kendall
Date: 17 Jun 04 - 07:09 PM

Your question is silly. Are you implying that he doesn't eat bread? Or that someone gives it to him?

Subject: RE: BS: Rich Senators
From: Blackcatter
Date: 17 Jun 04 - 10:06 PM

Respectfully Kendall - it is not silly. I'm just curious, how often does he go shopping? Many of our top officials hardly do anything we "average" Americans do.

Now, in itself, that's not a bad thing - but when they should be keeping in touch with the average citizen, not knowing what it's like to buy groceries and not knowing how much some things have gone up may be important.

In 1992 I was working for a local company who built barcode scanners for stores. I happened to be working a convention in Orlando that the first President Bush visited while campaigning for re-election. He was quite surprised at the technology I was demonstrating. Not that it was new version of a scanner he was impressed with, but with the technology itself. Keep in mind that this was stuff that had been in every major store for nearly 8 years. He said something accurate though - I remember him saying: "Well, when this technology gets in the stores, it will cause a revolution" It did - just 8 years prior to him saying it.

Of course not all politicians are that out of touch, but that's one of the reasons I've always liked Senator Bob Graham of Florida. Since he ran for his first office 40 years ago, he has spent several days of each year (even when he's not running for office) working side by side with regular folk on their jobs. I believe his done this over 400 times - a full day's work.

Subject: RE: BS: Rich Senators
From: kendall
Date: 18 Jun 04 - 06:31 AM

You are splitting hairs. The fact is, he PAYS the same price. Whether or not he does the shopping is irrelevent. Looks like you missed my point.

Subject: RE: BS: Rich Senators
From: John P
Date: 21 Jun 04 - 09:49 AM

Kendall -- It looks like you missed my point. Any one who has ever been a senator is rich. Even if they spent all their high pay on bread, their retirement benefits make them all wealthy people. I don't really care if they are less wealthy than some billionaire. That's really not the point. The point is that, when compared to a vast majority of people in this world (or even in this country), they are very wealthy.

If you want to talk about the price of a loaf of bread being the same for a senator as for, say, a part time community college instructor, or maybe even a soldier in the United States Army, then you should look at the price of the loaf of bread as a percentage of their income. The retired senator pays a far smaller percentage of his income -- which he didn't have to do any work to get -- for his loaf of bread. Yes, yes, I know. There are a lot of people who pay an even smaller percentage of their unworked for income for a loaf of bread. So what?

The point is that senators and ex-senators are all wealthy. All of them. No non-wealthy people in the club. The system is set up that way. That makes us poor folks suspicious about whether they are looking out for us.

John Peekstok

Subject: RE: BS: Rich Senators
From: GUEST
Date: 21 Jun 04 - 10:02 AM

oh jeeze, here we go again..let's sterotype the well off, or the hardworking as people so pampered they don't even but bread. I find this attitude such a childish bore..really, do grow up and judge people on their personal merits...like you would want to be judged.

Subject: RE: BS: Rich Senators
From: Ebbie
Date: 21 Jun 04 - 11:56 AM

I don't agree that senators, et al, don't 'work' for their living. Working with the hands is honorable, surely, but it certainly is not the only thing that is work. Have you tried attending innumerable meetings? And staying informed and on top of the subect? (And staying awake?) And then having to defend your vote to people who all have a vested interest in the legislation? It cannot be other than stressful.

I am serious about this. Working in government is not an employment I would choose.

Subject: RE: BS: Rich Senators
From: GUEST,Kim C no cookie
Date: 21 Jun 04 - 01:52 PM

It occurs to me that some of the senators don't need the 6-figure incomes our financially strapped government pays them, because they have other income as well. I'm happy for them to have their living & travel expenses covered while they're in office, but is it necessary for the taxpayers to fund salaries most of us will never make? I believe they should be paid for their time & trouble, but let's be reasonable.

Subject: RE: BS: Rich Senators
From: kendall
Date: 21 Jun 04 - 04:46 PM

George Mitchell is not rich. period.

Subject: RE: BS: Rich Senators
From: DougR
Date: 21 Jun 04 - 06:29 PM

Some of the Senators married well. Our Senator McCain is one of them, and Kerry did rather well too.

Must say I do agree with Larry about the politicians who claim to represent the "common" man. Most of them wouldn't have any idea how to survive paycheck to paycheck.

DougR

Subject: RE: BS: Rich Senators
From: kendall
Date: 22 Jun 04 - 07:40 AM

From the beginning Senators were a cut above the rest and it is still that way. My point is simply that not all of them got rich.