New Economy Working Group

Though the South is the region of the United States with the greatest concentration of income inequality, its representatives in Congress are doing a poor job of addressing the problem.

The Institute for Policy Studies released a report this week that grades federal lawmakers on 40 legislative actions over the past two years that either helped the most affluent or the poorest of their constituents.

The 13 Southern states* earned an average score of C-. Of those 13 states, 10 have among the highest income inequality index scores nationwide.

Report was released today by progressive think-tank: Institute on Policy Studies in Washington, DC that gives a 'report-card' on how well/poor Congress addresses income inequality... As you can expect, 59 Congress members gets an 'F'. I expected that, but the overwhelming numbers of the wealth that these members have (on both sides of the aisle) was sort of mind-boggling.

The "Inequality Report Card," published today by the Institute for Policy Studies, looks at how lawmakers voted on dozens of bills that would, among other things, raise taxes on the wealthy, restrict the use of offshore tax havens, increase the minimum wage, and strengthen labor unions.

The Institute for Policy Studies gave Rep. Tim Scott a failing grade in its Congressional Report Card, which was released yesterday.

He was one of 48 U.S. representatives, and the only one from South Carolina, to receive this lowest grade.

In its report, IPS notes that Scott voted to extend the Bush tax cuts on both high and unearned income (HR 8) and to reduce corporate (HR 9). He voted against a measure that would prevent use of offshore accounts as tax havens (theDoggett Amendment), and Scott also co-sponsored a bill to reduce taxes on overseas earnings (HR 1834). He co-sponsored a bill to eliminate estate taxes (HR 1259), as well.

Buerkle ranked among those on the “dishonor roll” for her votes, which the IPS said consistently favored the interests of the wealthy instead of looking out for the needs of everyone statewide.

Mitt Romney and I both grew up in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, a wealthy suburb of Detroit. For much of our childhoods, we were represented in Congress by a tireless defender of the rich and powerful, U.S. Representative William Broomfield... Not every member of Congress is as clear cut in their allegiances as my former Congressman. Which is why the new Institute for Policy Studies “Congressional Report Card for the 99 Percent” is so useful...

Want to know how your reps on Capitol Hill rate on inequality? Check out a new Congressional Report Card for the 99 Percent issued by my organization, the Institute for Policy Studies.

Washington-based progressive think tank Institute for Policy Studies has issued its 2012 Inequality Report Card, which scores members of Congress on their support for the 99% rather than the richest 1% of Americans.

“Members of Congress have the capacity to make sure all Americans, not just a privileged few, share in the wealth that we all together create,” study co-author Scott Klinger, associate fellow at the Institute for Policy Studies said in a release. “With this new report card, voters can see for themselves how well their elected lawmakers are meeting that responsibility.”

The liberal think tank Institute for Policy Studies is out today with a "Congressional Report Card for the 99%" that dings Republicans as the "most 1% friendly" lawmakers.