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no, I actually lived just fine. your point about the commute is moot. WE pay for their cars and gas. did you not see my post about the dirtbag charles rangel? they aren't paying for jack. get real. I went to HS with some of the kids of people who worked in the house and senate. they had a gravy life.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sunil's Dad
You were living on a low budget, without needing to commute or maintain two sets of households. It's a bit different for these guys...........
no, I actually lived just fine. your point about the commute is moot. WE pay for their cars and gas. did you not see my post about the dirtbag charles rangel? they aren't paying for jack. get real. I went to HS with some of the kids of people who worked in the house and senate. they had a gravy life.
Rangel cheated on his taxes. It was not a function of any kind of special status members of Congress get. He flat out broke the law. He'll probably skate for it, but he didn't omit reporting income because he's entitled to it as part of his job. Marion Barry skated for filing NO federal tax returns for six years. Rangel will walk too.
yeah but barry had an excuse. a huge crack addiction.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Rick Lee
Rangel cheated on his taxes. It was not a function of any kind of special status members of Congress get. He flat out broke the law. He'll probably skate for it, but he didn't omit reporting income because he's entitled to it as part of his job. Marion Barry skated for filing NO federal tax returns for six years. Rangel will walk too.
How does that differ from congressional pay? The original comparison should be apples to apples base pay vs base pay or total compensation vs total compensation.
The original point was with regard to what a top Chief of Staff can make. The limit noted by <Badfish740> applies to what he can make from one source among various possible sources. The vast majority of the 20,000+ staffers on the Hill are paid from that source only or from equivalent Committee funds only. The cream of the crop could however go four or five stops down the Orange & Blue Lines to K Street and start off at up to $600K. These guys are working for the position as much as the money, but if you want to keep them, you still have to get them into some sort of rational financial situation, so that's what's done.
A TON of talented Hill staffers and other federal employees have left jobs they loved because they simply could no longer afford to live on the gov't. salary. Tom Ridge, Louis Freeh, Tony Snow, and on and on. All have stated when leaving that they needed to go earn some money so they could put their kids through college. Besides, working on the Hill is a serious grind for not much money. Where else in the world can you make billion dollar decisions while earning $40k per year?
you are forgetting all the benefits. they don't even have to pay for their own cars in congress. they can lease the car of their choice at tax payer expense. we also get the bill for the gas as well as the insurance.
The program is available only to House members on account of the high degree of business-related travel around their districts they are expected to do. The cars can only be used for business purposes, and only about 30% of the House takes advantage of the program, with most opting for nice, but not luxury, models.
All in all, it's kind of a far cry from the $225,000 worth of personal travel that eBay CEO Meg Whitman ran up on her corporate jet in 2004. Of course, she did owe $128,000 in taxes on the imputed income from those flights, but then again, the Board voted to have eBay pick that tab up for her as well. Another triumph of capitalism...private sector integrity on parade...
Last edited by saganista; 10-21-2008 at 04:22 PM..
You are not poor... You are a renter in DC for that much tho.
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