Who governs your US senator?

Voting records from the late eighties and early nineties, G.H.W. Bush and W.J. Clinton presidencies, were used by Larry M. Bartels to demonstrate that Democratic and Republican Senators' votes were governed by income groups, as shown at right. Your senators are very loyal to the middle and upper income classes, and the lower income group is ignored. This is not a recent trend.

The American Founders from states with high and low populations matter-of-factly made a non-ideological choice about governance in the US Senate. In  What if senators represented people by income or race, not by state? Annie Lowery quotes Senate historian Donald Ritchie, "Half of the population of the nation lives in 10 states, which have 20 senators. The other half lives in 40 states that have 80 senators," and she also supposes a new Senate based on census income data.

"Imagine a chamber in which senators were elected by different income brackets -- with two senators representing the poorest 2 percent of the electorate, two senators representing the richest 2 percent and so on

Based on Census Bureau data, five senators would represent Americans earning between $100,000 and $1 million individually per year, with a single senator working on behalf of the millionaires (technically, it would be two-tenths of a senator). Eight senators would represent Americans with no income. Sixteen would represent Americans who make less than $10,000 a year, an amount well below the federal poverty line for families. The bulk of the senators would work on behalf of the middle class, with 34 representing Americans making $30,000 to $80,000 per year."

Given that this imagining is unlikely to become a reality, perhaps LaVonne Neff's proposition will prevail:

"Let’s require every person holding elected office, and every candidate for elected office, to wear a T-shirt at all times listing his or her top three contributing industries. T-shirts should be updated at least every three months."