Congress - Representing the people or lining their pockets?

I've read three articles in the last few days and wanted to tie them all together, to paint a picture that the US Government, as it is now, is no longer representing the interests of the people (shock).

Everyone on the right or the left screaming at one another, guess what, they've won. They have successfully divided the people and keep us divided with our pet peeves about the other side. While we are focused on shouting one another down, the people in Washington are robbing us blind. The Left/Right paradigm is false!

On to the articles:

Article 1:

New High: 46% Think Most in Congress Are Corrupt

Starting off with a 'hopeful' article, perhaps people are waking up in greater #'s to the sham.

A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 46% of Likely U.S. Voters now view most members of Congress as corrupt. That’s up seven points from June and the highest finding yet recorded. Just 29% think most members are not corrupt, and another 25% are not sure.

Similarly, a whopping 85% of voters think most members of Congress are more interested in helping their own careers than in helping other people. That’s a record high for surveys stretching back to early November 2006. Only seven percent (7%) believe most of the legislators are more interested in helping others.

However, this part of the article is concerning.

Voters under 50 believe much more strongly than their elders that most members of Congress are corrupt. Union members share that view more than those who are not unionized.

Investors are less likely to believe most congressmen are corrupt that non-investors are.

So, older people, who vote in droves compared to others, don't think that Congress is corrupt. Neither do investors. Is that because these two groups of people are seriously that stupid or because they conveniently overlook the corruption because it assists them in the wallet?

Article 2:

Members of Congress Are Exempt from Insider Trading Laws and Make 9% Per Year Trading on Inside Information

Wow, I never knew this until this week. "Do As We Say, Not As We Do" if I've ever seen it.

Strict laws ban corporate executives from trading on their insider knowledge, but no restrictions exist for members of Congress. Lawmakers are permitted to keep their holdings and trade shares on the market, as well as vote on legislation that could affect their portfolio values.

How is this even possible? How have we allowed ourselves as a country to get to the point that our elected officials can vote on legislation that can positively affect their portfolio's?

An extensive study released Wednesday in the journal Business and Politics found that the investments of members of the House of Representatives outperformed those of the average investor by 55 basis points per month, or 6 [sic] percent annually, suggesting that lawmakers are taking advantage of inside information to fatten their stock portfolios.

“We find strong evidence that members of the House have some type of non-public information which they use for personal gain,” according to four academics who authored the study, “Abnormal Returns From the Common Stock Investments of Members of the U.S. House of Representatives.”

To the frustration of open-government advocates, lawmakers and their staff members largely have immunity from laws barring trading on insider knowledge that have sent many a private corporate chieftain to prison.

The article states that it only took into account trading that has been disclosed, which leads us to...

Article 3:

The List Everyone Is Talking About

This proves that the left/right paradigm is false as far as our political overlords are concerned. They throw the division out into the public, the media picks it up and bangs the drums, getting this interest group, that interest group all in a huff, meanwhile, they rob us blind.

I'm not going to put the whole list here, you can see it in a table in the article, the summary is as follows:

Democrats:

• Net Worth Avg '04 = $10,019,433
  
• Net Worth Avg '08 = $85,726,776
  
• Growth '04-'08 = $75,707,343
  
• % Chg = 756%
  
• 2009 Net Worth = $95,620,163
  

Republicans:

• Net Worth Avg '04 = $45,223,644
  
• Net Worth Avg '08 = $121,066,961
  
• Growth '04-'08 = $75,843,317
  
• % Chg = 168%
  
• 2009 Net Worth = $195,473,184
  

What shocked me is the % change of the D's over the R's.... guess they are just getting clued into the game.

So, are you still being sucked into the Left/Right paradigm? Regardless of how you feel about entitlement programs, abortion, gay marriage, etc, etc. The Federal Government DOES NOT have your best interests at heart. I think most every sane American wants the same thing, a country that we are proud of, that provides opportunity for all and that we can leave in a better condition than we found it.

We have only had politics as usual for the last 40+ years. The R's and D's are saying the opposite from one another, but their actions are proving that they are destroying this country TOGETHER.

So, now on to my plea. I truly believe there is only one person that can possibly help save this sinking ship, and that is Ron Paul. His platform might not hit YOUR personal pet peeves 100%, but I believe that any sane American can find a majority of items on his platform that they can get on board with. Listen to Ron speak, he doesn't sound like the "elites" in Washington, he speaks from common sense.

• Bring the troops home - save money
  
• End the drug war - save money
  
• More power back to the states - more local control, where it can do the MOST good
  
• Business friendly environment that is held to an ethical nature via the court system - less regulation, more jobs at home
  
• End the Federal Reserve - Please, if you don't know that this is THE issue of our time, read The Creature from Jekyll Island by G. Edward Griffin
  
  edit on 7/28/2011 by Finalized because: (no reason given)
  

I just went and looked at my brokerage account, I made NO WHERE NEAR that amount of return during the same period.

Worth a watch....

reply to post by Maxmars


S&F... bumping this thread with a one liner because I can't afford a second after seeing that.

you know what when people hear of a "Rich" democrat

and they pander to their base that demagogue the right for being evil greedy rich corporatists.

remember just how rich they are and how hypocritical they are.

the democrats supposedly hate money but have no problems lining their pockets

conversely the republicans love money thats a given.

however congress is rich then they shouldnt be getting free money from the taxpayer or the best healthcare in this country.

they should be working for free and pay for thier own healthcare


and i have yet to ever hear of a poor congressman

Why is it concerning???Our whole system is corrupt. The "youngsters" as people like to say see this. It's the old timers who insist on maintaining a system that is corrupt and dying. I don't see anything concerning in the fact that people under fifty can see the system as the corrupt thing it is. If people really knew what our system was about, they'd revolt tomorrow.

Originally posted by SpeakerofTruth
Why is it concerning???Our whole system is corrupt. The "youngsters" as people like to say see this. It's the old timers who insist on maintaining a system that is corrupt and dying. I don't see anything concerning in the fact that people under fifty can see the system as the corrupt thing it is. If people really knew what our system was about, they'd revolt tomorrow.

edit on 28-7-2011 by SpeakerofTruth because: (no reason given)

It is concerning because those older than 50 vote, have more money to give to politicians yet see them as being above board when they aren't. I was heavily involved with Ron's run last time, guess who shut us out? The older than 50 party establishment.

Anyone else find John Shadegg's numbers suspicious? He is a republican from Arizona.

.
Shadegg, John (R-Ariz) -$4,999 $12,501 $17,500 350 >100% Gain $12,501


A 2009 net worth of $12,501!! I will bet the car he drives is worth three times that amount. Somebody is cooking the books big time!! LIAR!! THIEF!! You give my state a bad name you lieing female dog.

Great Post S&F

You illustrated it so well that I really have nothing else to add.

All I can say is...

Ron Paul may help, yet it eventually comes down to each and every American doing their part.
We need to clean up US politics. Ron Paul alone can't do this. It will take a group effort.
To do this we need to unite. Our strength in numbers is the only way we will be able to force change...

The only time they care about us is when the elections come around, because they need our votes. Once they're in, their only concern is making as much money as possible from appeasing their corporate constituents. Fire them all, I say.

holy crap...from 04 up to 08 their net worth sky rocketed...that alone proves they're lining their pockets...S+F for you sir

reply to post by Finalized


Found some additional information on the insider trading of Congress at: insidertrading.procon.org...

The US Senate and the US Supreme Court are the only two out of 975 federal entities that we could find that seem to have no rules and no laws prohibiting them from trading stocks based on nonpublic information they gain on the job.

The breakdown of the entities can be found at: insidertrading.procon.org...

I think the majority of people that run for Congress...especially the representatives, do so with the best of intentions.

I also think that once in Congress, the corruption, temptation, money, power, even sex,... is so powerful that it corrupts even the best intentioned politician.

And once even the least transgression is broken, then it becomes a very slippery slope and tool of others to manipulate and black mail even the most sincere office holder. And with each step into the pit, it becomes harder and harder to walk away...

Questionable deals, strange bed fellows..literal and political... hidden agendas...all contribute to the mess we have always had. Go back and look at the movie Mr. Smith Goes to Washington...or Huey Long and All the King's Men...or go way back and look at the administration of Andrew Jackson or US Grant or anybody else for that matter.

Absolute power corrupts absolutely...always has, always will.

I wish I could believe that they run for office with 'the best of intentions' and I believe that a minority actually do. Most are well clued-in to the game ahead of time and know what it represents to them personally. It's all very simple actually and if you have ever worked around government in DC you know the drill. The party in-power gets to saddle-up to the trough (along with their benefactors and handlers) and fill themselves with public treasure. The reason the dems surged so much? Cause they just got back in-power after 8yrs. Go back and you'll see the same pattern in previous party changes in DC.

But this time there IS a difference. In recent years, perhaps over the last 10 or so, the rapaciousness and arrogance associated with it has grown geomoetroically. Where in the past the looting of the public was done quietly and with some degree of restraint, it is now done with complete abandonand total disregard of The People. The attitude is, 'Yea, and what are YOU going to do about it?'

Our 'represntatives' ceased being that a long time ago. They are, in fact, nothing more than agents for the big business and Elite that put them there. The system is no longer a republic and certainly no longer a democratic-republic. In 2007 (it has gotten SIGNIFICANTLY worse since) the top 1% of the population owned 43% of the country's wealth, the bottom 80% of the population had only 7%; the top 1% had almost 50% of investment assets, the bottom 90% only 12%. The only area where the lowere 90% were doing ok was in housing... and we all know what 'they' did to us with that. Again, since 2007 the disparity has widened significantly. source

So, by virtue of their wealth and the political power they wield as a result (who finances, buys and lobbies the politicians?) 'our' country is run and controlled by 1% of the population. We are, for all intent and purpose, a feudal state. The politcians are merely the middle-men, the bag-men for the Elite.

Its never too late to realize the similarity between politics and the world wrestling federation.
The "left" or "right" paradigm is only used to fool the ignorants, wich equals to at least 3/4 of the voters.
Unfortunatly, most of the remaining 1/4 are hypocrites.