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Washington, Madison and Jefferson, three of the Founding Fathers, had giant plantations with slaves and were among the richest guys in the colonies. Ben Franklin was an inventor. Hamilton was a great lawyer. John Adams, hugely successful lawyer. Washington was a great man, but they were all elites and they were the richest, most powerful, successful men in the colony.
-Pat Buchanan |
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Collectively, the worth of all members of both the House and the Senate in 2010 was $2 billion. And that's a minimum estimate, so says Roll Call newspaper which focuses on Capitol Hill. Roughly 40 percent of the U.S. Congress are millionaires. The wealth of members of Congress is divided fairly evenly between the parties. Democrats in the Senate hold 80 percent of the wealth and Republicans in the House hold 78 percent of the wealth. Of the 10 richest senators in Congress, seven are Democrats, three Republicans. Of the 10 richest members of the House, eight are Republicans, two Democrats.
Given the July 4 holiday, John McLaughlin asked his panel if the Founding Fathers would have approved of all these rich guys and gals in the Congress? Or was that the original plan? |
