Crossposted on 43rd State Blues
Dan Popkey shared a report from The Washington Post, which is:
... running a photo gallery of the 25 members of Congress with the lowest net worth in 2010 and Idaho GOP Rep. Raul Labrador is No. 25 on the low list. Labrador's net worth is between a negative $130,993 and a maximum of $66,997, averaging out at minus $31,998 according to the Center For Responsive Politics, which tracks personal financial disclosure statements filed by members of Congress and offers a free, searchable database. The statements require reporting assets, within broad ranges, so exact figures are not available.
Labrador was faced with a "move up or move out" of politics situation before the Republican Congressional primary, in which he won a surprise victory. The word around the statehouse was that he couldn't afford to live on an Idaho legislator's paltry salary, perform his work in the legislature at the time; and still maintain his law practice.
For Raul's sake, I hope he's making some good friends in Washington now (the kind who can help him be a high paid lobbyist in the future). He has already reported how frustrating things are for him in DC.
Congress is not the greatest career path for men of color in the Republican Party. As one of his predecessors, Rep. J.C. Watts, a black conservative from Oklahoma, is famous for saying:
"If I ever find out that I have six years to live, I hope that they are in Congress ... because my time here has been the longest six years of my life."