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> Most politicians come from the middle class I very seriously doubt this is true. It may have been at one time, but people in the middle class today are too b

> Most politicians come from the middle class I very seriously doubt this is true. It may have been at one time, but people in the middle class today are too busy making ends meet to have time for politics. Obama was a huge outlier in modern politics. > ... so I'd wager most of them attended public school. This is no guarantee either; suburban school districts are disproportionately wealthy relative to urban districts. And in every urban city center I’ve lived in, even middle class (white) people end up putting their kids in Catholic school (or something similar).

notfromhere 7y ago
Congress is economically diverse to a point (https://www.rollcall.com/news/politics/every-member-congress-wealth-one-chart https://www.rollcall.com/news/politics/every-member-congress...) I'd still wager a majority went to public school, which are still government-run even if they are in nice suburbs.
- opencl 7y ago
  95% of them are millionaires, it is ludicrous to call that economically diverse or middle class. Even if they went to public schools they likely went to some of the nicest public schools in the country.
  - SpicyLemonZest 7y ago
    The linked article says that only about half of them are millionaires. Do you have another source of information you're pulling from?
    - Retric 7y ago
      The source uses a rather disingenuous means of calculating net worth, such as counting home loans as debts but ignoring the value of their home as an asset. Resulting in for example a negative 17 million net worth for the owner of a dairy business. The first non millionaire listed was ted cruse: https://www.opensecrets.org/personal-finances/net-worth?cid=N00033085 https://www.opensecrets.org/personal-finances/net-worth?cid=... However, that looks like a multimillionaire to me.
  - specialp 7y ago
    Being a millionaire later in life (most reps are 40+ yrs of age) doesn't imply that they grew up rich. Certainly there are the born and bred elite over-represented in there, but also getting elected to a congressional seat does involve some determination and that determination and smarts could also make one relatively wealthy.
  - lucaspm98 7y ago
    It's very reasonable for a well educated and hard working, but otherwise middle class and average, American to become a millionaire by the middle age or older politicians usually are.
    - kedean 7y ago
      I'm wondering also if we're all working off of different definitions of "middle class". Many people apply a much lower baseline income to the term than the accepted standard these days.
specialist 7y ago
When people say "politicians", there really is a world of difference between local, county, state, and federal. Most locals are definitely the walk on team.

notfromhere 7y ago

Congress is economically diverse to a point (https://www.rollcall.com/news/politics/every-member-congress-wealth-one-chart https://www.rollcall.com/news/politics/every-member-congress...) I'd still wager a majority went to public school, which are still government-run even if they are in nice suburbs.

opencl 7y ago
95% of them are millionaires, it is ludicrous to call that economically diverse or middle class. Even if they went to public schools they likely went to some of the nicest public schools in the country.
- SpicyLemonZest 7y ago
  The linked article says that only about half of them are millionaires. Do you have another source of information you're pulling from?
  - Retric 7y ago
    The source uses a rather disingenuous means of calculating net worth, such as counting home loans as debts but ignoring the value of their home as an asset. Resulting in for example a negative 17 million net worth for the owner of a dairy business. The first non millionaire listed was ted cruse: https://www.opensecrets.org/personal-finances/net-worth?cid=N00033085 https://www.opensecrets.org/personal-finances/net-worth?cid=... However, that looks like a multimillionaire to me.
- specialp 7y ago
  Being a millionaire later in life (most reps are 40+ yrs of age) doesn't imply that they grew up rich. Certainly there are the born and bred elite over-represented in there, but also getting elected to a congressional seat does involve some determination and that determination and smarts could also make one relatively wealthy.
- lucaspm98 7y ago
  It's very reasonable for a well educated and hard working, but otherwise middle class and average, American to become a millionaire by the middle age or older politicians usually are.
  - kedean 7y ago
    I'm wondering also if we're all working off of different definitions of "middle class". Many people apply a much lower baseline income to the term than the accepted standard these days.

specialist 7y ago

When people say "politicians", there really is a world of difference between local, county, state, and federal. Most locals are definitely the walk on team.