Almost no decision made by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-New York) is uncontroversial—and her decision to pay all of her staffers at least $52,000 a year is no exception.
Ocasio-Cortez wrote of her decision on Friday: “It’s likely one of the highest entry-level salaries on the Hill. We pinch pennies elsewhere, but it’s worth every dime to pay a living wage.”
Leadership starts with our choices.
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) February 23, 2019
That’s why I decided that no one on my staff will make less than $52k/year.
It’s likely one of the highest entry-level salaries on the Hill. We pinch pennies elsewhere, but it’s worth every dime to pay a living wage.https://t.co/IxfNH4632h
The series of tweets on Friday and Saturday discussing the issue attracted more than 20,000 replies, some suggesting she distribute all salaries in her office equally, and others recycling a rumor about her employing her boyfriend, which has been debunked.
https://twitter.com/KendraFite1/status/1099729974347612161
Why do you get to make 3x as much as your staff? Doesn’t seem very “fair” of you
— Charles Newman (@ClnewmanXCV) February 24, 2019
Shouldn’t you take your allotment, including your $175,000 salary, and pool it into one fund, then distribute the money equally among all on your staff, including you? Thought you were a Socialist, or is that just your schtick?
— Liberal Lies Matter (@JeepGuy18JL) February 24, 2019
https://twitter.com/pstohlt15/status/1099729096395780097
https://twitter.com/TomRok5992/status/1099726257892274178
https://twitter.com/JakeGerace/status/1099749275221643264
On Sunday, Fox & Friends slammed Ocasio-Cortez over the decision, with host Pete Hegseth calling the decision “socialism and communism on display,” according to the Hill.
According to Roll Call, “Government watchdog groups say deep cuts to office and committee budgets have contributed to a lack of diversity in Hill offices, high turnover and congressional brain drain.”
The story adds that members of both parties had begun to call for better staff compensation even before the Democrats took over the House in January 2019.
Washington, D.C., is the fifth most expensive city to live in in the country. According to inc.com, it takes $90,811 to “live comfortably,” and rent is typically about $2,170 per month. The definition of “living comfortably” is based on a budgeting formula wherein 50 percent of your income should go to necessities, 30 percent to disposable income, and 20 percent to savings. In March 2018, median staffer salaries ranged from $35,925 to $81,491, according to USA Today.
In December 2018, Ocasio-Cortez announced that she would pay interns working for her at least $15 per hour.
Time to walk the walk.
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) December 5, 2018
Very few members of Congress actually pay their interns. We will be one of them. https://t.co/BuKCDSai0K
READ MORE:
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Ocasio-Cortez shows how easy it is to be a ‘bad guy’ in politics
