In a story posted this week to her Instagram, socialist Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC) lamented that the $174,000 congressional salary is difficult on “working and middle class” lawmakers.
“Only 10 women in the history of the United States have ever given birth while serving in Congress. 10,” AOC wrote referring to the U.S. House of Representatives as a “hostile place to have a baby,” as vote schedules “pretty much” assume that no one has a family, as they change often and require frequent travel.
And then there are the expenses. “The job requires you to pay $25k+ in out of pocket work expenses that are NOT reimbursable or tax deductible, no housing allowance despite requiring you to pay for/rent 2 homes or else risk losing your job (hence the above huge work expenses), no included dental or vision insurance, no eligibility for PSLF, etc.,” she said, noting that her points are unpopular, citing “a lot of fake memes about Congress voting to give themselves pay increases.”
“So basically if you’re a normal working person that comes into this job and refuses to do insider trading,” she continued, identifying herself as such, “then you are playing an already hard job on extra hard mode both personally and professionally.”
For some perspective, the median household income in the United States in 2020 was $67,521 — $106,479 less than AOC’s congressional salary. Even with $25,000 worth of expenses, that’s still $81,479 more than the median household income in 2020.