In order to be successful in today’s political climate, it
helps to be wealthy. That being said, the path to wealth and political success
doesn’t mean coming from a wealthy family. There have been presidents who have
come from modest backgrounds, for example Bill Clinton or Barack Obama, who
have acquired wealth throughout their career which allows them the resources to
run for office. Politicians need not be millionaires to run a successful presidential
campaign, but they do need enough disposable income to allow for candidates to
dedicate time and effort to their campaigns.
Ultimately, candidates need a prestigious education to pave the way for political success. In most cases, the path to
this education is through family wealth, but scholarships or loans are also
options. Barack Obama took out generous loans in order to attend Harvard Law School,
and lived in a basement apartment to cut costs. Bill Clinton relied on scholarships
to attend Georgetown. College is the first step to becoming president, as it
provides candidates with a sense of credibility, as well as important
connections with their peers who can help them down the road. This is important
because we often think of politicians as wealthy and privileged. In reality,
many politicians have had to work extremely hard and overcome difficult circumstances
to get to where they are today.
Once a candidate has acquired a
degree, they enter the workforce. It is important to mention that even those candidates
who didn’t come from families with high incomes used this chance to begin
making more money. Barack Obama worked as a lawyer and law teacher for many
years, which helped to pay off his debt from college and begin accumulating
wealth.
At this point in a candidate’s
life, some accumulation of money is necessary to begin running for president.
Running for office requires a lot of time and effort when you can’t be working
a regular job, thus candidates need enough money to sustain themselves on the presidential
path, as well as a freedom from everyday concerns which might normally keep people
busy. One notable acceptation is Bill Clinton, who only made $35,000 per year
as governor prior to running for president. Despite Clinton’s income being
substantially lower than most other presidential hopefuls, it is worth mentioning
that his wife, Hillary Rodham Clinton, was the main breadwinner at the time,
earning upwards of $92,000 per year as a senior partner at a law firm. In
addition, Hillary’s family had money which had helped the young couple buy a
home and make several other investments which added to their wealth. Although
Bill Clinton had a lower income, his overall financial situation allowed for
the same freedom to invest his time and resources into a presidential campaign.
Although it’s
not necessary to come from a historically wealthy family in order to be
politically successful, it helps. Ultimately, it is a financial freedom to
devote your time which allows politicians to be successful, which is a luxury
only afforded by those who have enough money.
It would be interesting to try and form some political pipeline that doesn't funnel wealthy people into politics. It would require the people to sponsor candidates from the ground up or possibly more education on politics in schools so that more people would be interest in pursuing this. It certainly helps to be wealthy because law school is expensive and maybe a fund needs to be in places that brings people from lower class backgrounds into law school hoping they will join politics.
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