Our politicians aren’t much like us

Why can’t they be more like us? Wouldn’t that be better? Instead, the politicians we elect to office to represent us are nothing like you and me. At least when it comes to their backgrounds. The people we elect are not exactly working people. We knew that. But the statistics are alarming. About 50% of the United States population is considered working class. Working in some sort of manual labor jobs, or service industries, rolling up their sleeves, getting the job done day in and day out. But among our politicians, less than two percent can be considered working class. In the Wisconsin Legislature, not even two percent of our lawmakers could be called working class based on previous occupations. It is true for both Republicans and Democrats. No wonder they don’t seem to understand us. and even seem to want to make our lives harder sometimes. They are professional politicians who often have little in common with you and me. Shouldn’t we have a political body that is more representative of the population they represent? At least if we go to court we get a jury of our peers. But in the Legislative branch, we seem to be stuck with a bunch of professional politicians who often have done little else with their lives.