General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: "Struggling to make ends meet" on $174K a year?? Really Nancy??? [View all]DFW
(54,506 posts)I don't begrudge anyone making $174K to maintain two homes when one of them is in the DC area. The part of Virginia where I spent my childhood was all farms and dirt roads when I was little. Today, it's all interstates and shopping malls as part of the DC suburbs. Now my tiny original home town is considered "upscale." Back when I was in grade school, it was "WTF do you live all the way out THERE for?" Just about any part of DC or its suburbs are the high rent district these days, and maintaining even a modest second home there will eat up a good chunk of your after-tax salary, even if you're from Idaho.
Sure, if you're John Kerry or John McCain, it's just extra pocket money they wouldn't notice if it weren't there, but if you're Tammy Duckworth, it's not. If you're supporting children, it can get tight. Commuting into DC from long distances sucks, too. Jim Webb used to live in the part of VA were I grew up (don't know if her still does), and since he was representing VA, he didn't need a second home, but I wouldn't have wanted his commute to Capitol Hill every day, and I sure as hell wouldn't have wanted to finance a house closer to DC on a Senator's salary.
On the other hand paying the likes of Michele Bachmann, Louie Gohmert or Ted Cruz a DIME out of my taxes to spout their crap seems obscene to me.