http://www.inpaulsonwetrust.com/2008/10/too-many-lawyers-in-congress/
Too Many Lawyers in Congress
By WindyInc on October 2, 2008 | Leave Comment
Since the fate of the Bailout Bill rests with Congress, I found this Congressional Research Services Report that breaks out members of Congress by profession. Before looking at these stats, I want to make you aware that only approximately one in every three hundred people in the United States is a lawyer.
In the overwhelming majority of previous Congresses, business has followed law as the dominant occupation of Members. At the beginning of the 110th Congress, 215 Members (159 Representatives, 58 Senators) list their occupation as law, 202 Members (172 Representatives, 31 Senators) list public service/politics, and 189 Members (162 Representatives, 26 Senators) list business. Eighty-two Representatives and 14 Senators list education as a profession. Members often list more than one profession when surveyed by Congressional Quarterly, Inc. (From page 72 of “Statistically Speaking”, CQ Today)
...
A closer look at the prior occupations of Members of the 110th Congress also shows:
- 13 medical doctors (including a psychiatrist), two dentists, three nurses,
two veterinarians, one psychologist, an optometrist, and one pharmacist;
- six ministers;
- 37 mayors, nine state governors, nine lieutenant governors (including two
Delegates), two state first ladies (one of whom was also the first lady of
the United States), and one territorial first lady;
- three former Cabinet secretaries, two former Secretaries of the Navy, a
vice admiral in the navy, a former Deputy Administrator in the
Department of Veterans’ Affairs, a former Deputy Assistant Secretary of
State, a former Defense Department counter terrorism consultant, a
former ambassador, three state supreme court justices, and a federal
judge;
...
- three carpenters, two vintners, two bank tellers, a furniture salesman, an organic farmer, a ski instructor, an ironworker, an auto worker, a clothing factory worker, a mortician, a waitress, a teamster member/dairy worker, a paper mill worker, a cement plant worker, a meat cutter, a cannery worker, a shellfish specialist, a river boat captain, a taxicab driver, an auctioneer, a toll booth collector, a hotel clerk, a hotel bellhop, and a fruit orchard worker.
The easy conclusion is we have too many lawyers and career government types in Congress and not enough people from science, venture capital, information technology, farming, and industries where you work with your hands.