Columns 2012

Here’s a quote from an ADN article that ran on Dec. 27. It sure caught my eye.

“Between 1984 and 2009, the median worth of a member of the House (Federal) has risen 2 ½ times… rising from $280,000 to $725,000 in inflation-adjusted dollars.” This was based on analysis of financial disclosures done by the Washington Post. The analysis did not take into account home equity since that is not required in congressional reporting.

The article then continued, “Over the same period, the wealth of an American family has declined slightly, with the median sliding from $20.600 to $20, 500

Of course, the first question that comes to mind is “Where were her parents?” While this 14 year old lay in a bed dying of a heroin overdose, why weren’t her parents concerned with where she was all night? Maybe they weren’t part of her life or, if they were, they were not a terribly positive part.

Death is always a sad moment. But when the death comes to someone who should have been scheming about how to get her parents’ permission to go to the school dance with a 16 year old and not how to get some 28