Living in Washington DC is pricey. For US lawmakers, that means it’s time to present themselves a pay raise. But with confidence in politics at a depressing low, promoting a raise to the general public may very well be an uphill battle.
House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Maryland) known as for the raise on Wednesday, in remarks to the Select Committee on the Modernization of Congress. A pay raise, he mentioned would make sure that elected representatives who don’t come from rich backgrounds can dwell comfortably in Washington DC.
“Americans should have our nation’s range of financial backgrounds higher mirrored on this House,” he mentioned.
Members of Congress have had their salaries frozen since 2009, however nonetheless earn significantly greater than the typical American. Senators and Representatives take house $174,000 per 12 months, with get together leaders on each homes incomes $193,000, and the Speaker of the House topping the size at $223,500.
Meanwhile, the median American family revenue within the US was $59,039 in 2017.
Living in Washington DC is pricey. Renters there pay a median hire of $2,700 per 30 days, and the typical house prices $585,000, in keeping with real-estate web site Zillow. That’s almost twice the nationwide median of $1,695 to hire and $278,000 to purchase. Likewise, the value of meals and transportation in DC outstrips the nationwide common by as much as 45 p.c.
Freshman Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-New York) complained about DC’s value of residing when she was elected in November. Ocasio-Cortez once more angled for higher pay in a tweet on Wednesday, arguing that decrease pay makes staffers flee to lobbyists and members flip to extra legally grey avenues“for the extra cash.”