Our Plutocracy Has An Honest Republican ?

You may have heard of the fit thrown by newly-elected Representative Andy Harris (R-Maryland).   When the new representatives went to Washington to be clued-in about House rules and benefits, Harris got upset when he found out that he would not be covered with government health insurance until early February 2011 (even though he'll be sworn in and take office in January).   He was incensed that he would have to wait a whole thirty days for coverage.

Harris, a doctor, has evidently never had to work for anyone else and doesn't realize the real world rules that working Americans have to accept.   I think most Americans would be thrilled to get health insurance coverage after only 30 days, since they usually have to wait 60-90 days for that coverage (if they get it at all).

What makes Harris' little hissy-fit even worse is that he campaigned mainly on wanting to repeal the recently-passed health care reform law -- the law that will eventually cover millions of Americans that currently have no health insurance at all.   In other words, while Harris demands the government instantly give him health insurance, he has no problem with denying insurance coverage to millions of his fellow countrymen.   What a mean-spirited hypocritical jerk!

But not all Republicans are following Harris' hypocritical lead.   There is one honest newly-elected representative who is willing to practice what he preaches -- Rep. Bobby Shilling (R-Illinois).   Rep. Shilling is pictured above.

Now I doubt I will agree with Shilling on nearly anything.   He is, after all, a right-wing Republican.   But at least he doesn't seem to be a hypocrite.   Rep. Shilling has turned down the government-provided insurance coverage.   He has also turned down most other congressional benefits (such as the congressional pension plan).   Shilling says,   "Congress shouldn't have anything better than the American people."

Wow!   Imagine that.   A Republican willing to practice what he preaches.   And I have to admit, for once I actually agree with a Republican (a rare occurrence).   There is really no justification for the representatives (of either party) to provide benefits for themselves that they are not willing to provide for ordinary Americans (all of them).

This is especially true when you look at the finances of congressional members as discovered by the blog Open Secrets.   While most Americans are deeply mired in recession and struggling to make ends meet (remember 12-15 million jobs disappeared or were outsourced), the Representatives and Senators are doing quite well for themselves.   That may explain why they are so slow to help ordinary Americans and take steps to end the recession.   Consider the following facts:

* Between 2008 and 2009, congressional members collective wealth increased more than 16%.

* At least 261 congressional members are millionaires.

* 55 congressional members have a total wealth of at least $10 million, and at least eight have more than $100 million.

* In 2009, the median wealth of a U.S. House member was $765,010 (up from $645,503 in 2008).

* In 2009, the median wealth of a U.S. senator was $2.38 million (up from $2.27 million in 2008).

* This wealth is not party-specific.   Among the 10 richest House members are five Republicans and five Democrats.   Among the 10 richest senators are four Republicans and six Democrats.

* Seven House members (4 Republicans and 3 Democrats) saw their total wealth grow by at least 1,000% from 2008 to 2009.

And if you've wondered why Congress was so loath to rein in the large corporations, financial giants and private insurance companies, here are some companies and the number of congressional members that own stock in them:

General Electric..........82
Bank of America..........63
Cisco Systems..........61
Proctor & Gamble..........61
Microsoft..........54
Apple..........42
IBM..........41
Coca-Cola..........39
PepsiCo..........36
BP..........20
Goldman Sachs..........20
Wells Fargo..........45
JPMorgan Chase..........38
Citigroup..........24
Pfizer..........49
Johnson & Johnson..........39
Merck..........27
Abbott Laboratories..........25
CVS/Caremark..........23
Bristol-Myers Squibb..........22
Amgen..........20

I know most Americans would like to believe that we live in a representative democracy, but as the above figures demonstrate we actually have a plutocracy -- a government by the rich for the rich.   And both parties willingly participate in this plutocracy (with the Republicans just being a little bit more honest about favoring the rich).