Darrell Issa Opened His Mouth And Shot Republicans In The Foot On Income Inequality

The wealthiest member of Congress, Republican Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) has a message for America’s poor people. During an interview with CNN, Issa said that America’s poor are the envy of the world.

Video:

To get more stories like this, subscribe to our newsletter The Daily.

Issa was asked if he, as the wealthiest member of Congress, feels responsible at all to address income inequality.

He answered, “Absolutely. America is the richest country on Earth because we’ve been able to put capital together, and we’ve been able to make our poor, somewhat the envy of the world. If you go to India or you go to any number of other Third World countries, you have two problems: You have greater inequality of income and wealth. You also have less opportunity for people to rise from the have not to the have.”

CNN Money’s Cristina Alesci disagreed and said that the India comparison is not one that the United States should want to make.

Issa disagreed, “I appreciate your comment, but you’re wrong. You do have to compare yourself with the rest of the world. If we’re going to have people produce automobiles, they have to compete with the rest of the world. Can we be better, smarter, and produce cars in Georgia that can compete with Japan? Yes.”

While trying to avoid answering the question, Issa managed to shoot his own party in the foot. Rep. Issa is all about addressing income inequality. His method of addressing income inequality is to tell poor people that they have got it really good. In other words, Issa’s plan to address income equality is to do nothing.

At a time when Republicans are paying lip service to the idea that they care about the middle-class, Darrell Issa opened his mouth and shot his party in the foot. Issa’s babble about auto manufacturing and the global economy was a dodge.

The richest Republican in Congress told America’s poor people that they are the envy of the world. Issa was wrong about the American people having an opportunity to rise. Studies have shown that Americans have less economic opportunity than they did in 1970, and the situation is getting worse.

The America that Darrell Issa thinks he lives in is a fantasy, and the Republican solution to the problems of poverty and income inequality is to tell the poor that they are the envy of the world.

Real America is hurting, and they aren’t buying the rich man fantasies of Darrell Issa.

Jason Easley

Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.

Awards and  Professional Memberships

Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association