Thursday, January 5, 2012

Some Recent Political Stories

I've neglected to post links here to a couple of recent articles I've written. Must be post-Holiday blahs.

But anywho, I did a story about the likelihood of the Legislature having to grapple once again with proposals to required voters to present photo ID at the polls. This is a national movement by Republican legislators all over the country. It's not likely to pass the current Legislature, but it certainly will generate some heat. My story is HERE.

Also, I did a story about the net worth of our Congressional representatives. That story is HERE.

I should repeat this disclaimer as stated by The Center for Responsive Politics' website:

"It is difficult to gauge what a lawmaker is worth based on what they file because the disclosure forms do not require exact values. Instead, the lawmaker reports the range of value into which an asset, for example, falls. As the values increase, the ranges get broader." 

 To calculate the net worth of Congress members, the center added together the lawmaker's range of assets and then subtracted their range of liabilities. For its rankings the Center used the median point between the ranges. Thus, Sen. Jeff Bingaman's net worth was estimated at $16.3 million in 2010 and a mere $6.9 million in 2004. The Washington Post and others also use this method to rank Congressional wealth.