Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying they all came from privilege, but once they get to the stage they are at now, they've GOT to be rich. In today's advertising-centric world, it's pretty much a given. I understand politicians may work their way up from the bottom, because I know some do, and I respect that, but I just don't see how a person could be a running for a high office and not be wealthy. :dunno:
No, I think I get your point (and I wasn't trying to be argumentative; if anything I was trying to show that maybe it's not a completely horrible situation, just a very, very bad one).
I guess I would just say that perhaps some politicians CAN remember their own experiences where their family endured tight budgets. An even smaller number can remember those times, and are even willing to remember them without valorizing themselves and fabricating a bunch of right-wing b.s. as to how they got out of their situation (they worked hard, while everyone else was just lazy).
Look at this about Biden (from Wiki):
"Biden's father had been very well-off earlier in his life, but had suffered several business reverses by the time Biden was born.[5] For several years the family had to live with Biden's maternal grandparents.[5] Then the Scranton area went into economic decline during the 1950s, and Biden's father could not find enough work.[6] The Biden family moved to an apartment in Claymont, Delaware in 1953, where they lived for a few years before moving to a house in Wilmington, Delaware.[5] His father then did better as a used car salesman and the family's circumstances were middle class.[6][7][5] One of his grandfathers was a member of the Pennsylvania State Senate."
and
"With a net worth between $59,000 and $366,000, and almost no outside income or investment income, he is consistently ranked as one of the least wealthy members of the Senate.[65][66][67] Biden states that he has been listed as the second poorest member in Congress, a distinction that he is not proud of, but attributes it to being elected early in his career."
Yes, compared to many/most Americans who are not only not rich at all, and not only have zero net worth but are in debt, Biden looks comparatively comfy. But he hardly looks like he has some financial portfolio like McCain, Cheney, or whoever. I bet he knows how many homes he owns (and I'm guessing it's probably one, with MAYBE a vacation cottage tacked on somewhere). It's not like his income and wealth are so stratospheric that he can't comprehend normal socioeconomic problems that people go through. And he's surely not of a piece with the Wall Street dudes who destroy a company and the people who (actually) work for it, then quit/retire with a golden parachute for $200 million or something similarly obscene.
There's PLENTY that I disagree with Biden about policy-wise, but I don't think he's been so cloistered by unimaginable wealth that he's all but an alien to most people.
:2 cents:
