"It might surprise most people, but House staffers make a shit load more than Senate staffers. A Senate Staff Assistant makes between 18k and 25k a year, which a House Staff Ass usually makes from 25k to 32k or so. Which makes you think…what young professional is getting by on $18,000 a year in Washington D.C.? Do you realize that’s only fifteen hundred bucks a month? And now if you are like me, you’re asking yourself “who the fuck can live in Washington D.C. on $1,500 a month?” And you’re in luck, because I can answer that question.
The only people who can live on $1,500 a month in Washington D.C. are either on food stamps or recent college graduates with huge allowances from their parents. I’ll let you figure out which one is working on the Hill (Hint! They don’t shop places where food stamps are accepted). Those staffers who don’t have a healthy allowance usually turn to drugs (think of the guy selling pot and listening to Dave Matthews down the hall from you in college) or prostitution of some kind or another (butt sex for money and so on). Same concept applies with Legislative Assistants…an LA in the Senate—who has to have some kind of advanced degree, keep in mind—makes somewhere in the neighborhood of 30k to 40k a year. In the House, that salary is anywhere from 40k to 55k WITHOUT GRAD SCHOOL."
"So, again, ask yourself “what kind of Harvard Law grad is going into a job where they only make $40k a year?” Well, either the kind that sucks too much to get a real lawyering job or one that doesn’t have any obvious need for income. And, if you want to extrapolate a real-life civics lesson here, you can probably figure out a big part of the reason why Congress (both D’s and R’s) is so out of touch with regular old Americans. Thousands of Senate staffers are playing government (and oddly enough making major policy decisions) while their parents subsidize their living. So while constituents grapple with the realities of the new economy, these staffers can continue driving their Audis and shopping at Whole Foods. Look at me, I’m in public service! I’ll refrain from pointing out the obvious irony of my current employment situation. Wait, I think I just did."
http://www.wonkette.com/politics/ask-a-hill-staffer/ask-a-hill-staffer-mind-on-his-money-money-on-his-mind-168293.php
