[jfengel]

I can't speak to other countries, but in the US, politicians are not especially well paid. The President makes $400k; Senators and representatives get $174k. Top GS scale employees make $144k.

It's certainly nothing to sneeze at, but many of them were making more before they went into politics. And most of them have to maintain two homes, one in DC and another in their district. It's a small multiple of US average worker salary, but less than one order of magnitude (except for the President, who makes as much as ~12 average Americans).

Most are rich, but they were rich before. It's expensive to go into politics. It's not impossible to get into Congress without being rich, but most are.

[effingwewt]

Yea no. What politicians make on paper is a moot point. There's a reason they all listen to the special interests and lobbyists and not their constituents.

Then there's the regulatory capture of being a politician then going to work for the companies that lobbied them.

They start rich, they get richer.