Via the Miami Herald’s Naked Politics blog, I’ve been introduced to the “Fortune 535“, the Sunlight Foundation’s effort to describe the net worth of Congressmen and Senators based on public disclosure documentation.
For example, Connecticut’s delegation looks something like this:
Lawmaker 2006 Net Worth Rosa DeLauro $16,485,500 Joe Lieberman $1,658,540 Chris Dodd $482,010 Joe Courtney $233,004 Christopher Shays $49,503 Chris Murphy $-32,501
After taking a moment to indulge in the entertainment value of the site (<Homer>mmmm….stats</Homer>), I do wonder whether too much meaning can be drawn from this. After all, there is all sorts of accounting magic that can take place when evaluating an individual’s wealth.
The question of “does wealth make for a good politician” is an interesting one. I suspect the answer is “not necessarily”, but I would hope that the folks in charge of the nation’s pocketbook could demonstrate some skill at handling money.