Who Does Our Congress Represent?
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Who Does Our Congress Represent
Our congress consists of white males, who are over 50 years old and were lawyers or businessmen before taking office. How does this compare with the U.S. population as a whole? Male/Female: The U.S. population is 51 percent female. However the male to female ratio in congress is 90 percent of the lawmakers are male, 89 percent in the House of Representatives and 93 percent in the Senate while women only make up 16 percent in these areas. Race and Ethnic Make up in the U.S. population includes 12 percent African Americans, 9 percent Hispanics, and 3 percent Asian/Pacific Islanders and other groups. Congress, however, is 87 percent white; 85 percent in the House and 96 percent in the Senate. That is not enough to effectively represent the 312,252,292 people in the United States population. The median age of the U.S. population is 32.9 yet the median age of the members of Congress is 53. The total U.S. work force of 124 million people, only 6 percent are lawyers but 45 percent of the members of Congress are lawyers.
These statics are startling but true how can our government allow such major life changing decisions based on the thought and opinions of similar types of people, rather than everyday working citizens. Analysts state that, because most members of Congress are white males, the special needs and interests of women and minorities are not being represented. Critics argue that the problem is not with Congress, but with U.S. public and the way we vote. It is my belief that as Americans we must first change our attitudes and become more active in politics. Also have the opportunity to become personally acquainted with our congress members and be able to address them directly about their intentions to improve our nation .This, together with reforms in political campaigning, would eventually create a Congress that represents everyone.
Todays distrust of Congress is nothing new it dates back as far as 1787 where Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay published “The Federalist Papers,” a series of public letters. One letter cautioned us by stating that, “It is a misfortunate incident that those who administer the government may forget their obligations to their constituents.” This quote in evidence that supports our underlying schemes and manipulation of our governmental system. Such distrust continues today in a recent poll, 83 percent of those surveyed did not feel that Congress was in touch with the American people of their interests. Recent news stories about Congress have not helped a Washington newspaper reported that lawmakers had bounced thousands of checks in the Congressional bank that served lawmakers. It also revealed that members of Congress had parking tickets fixed and had run up huge bills at the Capitol Restaurant
One needed change, some people say, is limits on terms in office. The president can