Rich Republicans and Poor Democrats

How many times have you heard about "rich Republicans" and "poor Democrats"? I am sure the answer is often; but I am also sure you are confused about what is going on in the political market place today.

First, let's look at the incomes of the two major Democrats and the presumptive nominee of the Republicans.

* Sen. John McCain made approximately $400,000 in 2007. Certainly an impressive income and not one that would make you cry "poverty".

How about the "poor" Democrats?

* Sen. Barack Obama made ten times more than McCain in '07 with over $4 million in income. Meanwhile his wife cries poverty over having to have to make "outrageous" student loan payments to their old schools -- Princeton, Columbia, and Harvard (where's the violin music when you need it?).

* Sen. Hillary Clinton, on the other hand, made a whopping five times more than Obama at approximately $20 million. I won't even try to calculate that difference with McCain.

But how much candidates make isn't the only point, is it? It is about the level of financial support they get. Surely McCain receives much more from his rich Republican buddies than either (or even both) of the Democrats? The reality is the exact opposite, McCain has raised a fraction of the $40 million that Obama raised last month or any month for a long time and Clinton consistently raises significantly more than McCain.

The debate about wealth, poverty, and politics, is really quite cloudy. I sincerely doubt that homeless and other poor people (the alleged beneficiaries of Democrat policies) are fueling their Presidential campaigns. In fact, a Fortune Magazine article implied that business was voting for Hillary. What kind of business? The big corporations that can actually afford liberal and big government policies and see such as a way of keeping smaller competitors at bay.

If people do just a little homework, their views of "rich" and "poor", "Republican" and "Democrat" could actually change.

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Kevin Price is Host of the Houston Business Show (M-F at 11 AM on CNN 650) and Publisher of the Houston Business Review. Hear the show live and online at HoustonBusinessShow.com. Visit the archive of past shows here.