Posted on 11/09/2018 12:34:47 PM PST by Kaslin
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the youngest woman elected to Congress and a Democratic socialist, told The New York Times Wednesday that she can’t afford an apartment in D.C. until she gets her Congressional salary in three months.
Ocasio-Cortez, 29, said the transition period will be “very unusual, because I can’t really take a salary. I have three months without a salary before I’m a member of Congress. So, how do I get an apartment? Those little things are very real.”
She added that she has saved money before leaving her bartending job and “planned accordingly with her partner.”
“We’re kind of just dealing with the logistics of it day by day, but I’ve really been just kind of squirreling away and then hoping that gets me to January,” she said.
Ocasio-Cortez tweeted about the issue Thursday arguing that it was an example of “many little ways in which our electoral system isn’t even designed (nor prepared) for working-class people to lead.”
There are many little ways in which our electoral system isn’t even designed (nor prepared) for working-class people to lead.
This is one of them (don’t worry btw - we’re working it out!)
?? https://t.co/PEQ5ccSDSO— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@Ocasio2018) November 8, 2018
NBC noted that Ocasio-Cortez will make $174,000 a year as a member of Congress and that the median rent for a one-bedroom apartment in D.C. is $2,170 a month, making it the seventh-highest rent in the nation.
However, Ocasio-Cortez is moving from New York which has the second highest median rent in the nation for a one bedroom apartment costing $2,850 a month.
As Townhall noted earlier this year, reports, including from Harvard and the New Democrat Coalition, indicate that the affordable housing crisis is exacerbated by burdensome government regulations.
According to one recent report, released in June by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) and the National Multifamily Housing Council (NMHC), “regulation imposed by all levels of government accounts for an average of 32.1 percent of multifamily development costs,” and “in a quarter of cases, that number can reach as high as 42.6 percent.”
Ocasio-Cortez believes that housing is "a human right" and "Congress must tip the balance away from housing as a gambling chip for Wall Street banks and fight for accessible housing that's actually within working families' reach."
Her solution to the crisis, however, is not deregulation but costly government intervention. She wants to "give tax benefits to working- and middle-class homeowners, expand the Low Income Housing Tax Credit, provide housing for the homeless, and permanently fund the National Affordable Housing Trust Fund."
Some on Twitter who disagreed with her politically did sympathize with her difficulty with the cost of housing in the city.
I am no fan of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, but I'm a bit mystified that people are making fun of her for having trouble finding/affording housing in DC. That's, uh, a very relatable problem!— Robby Soave (@robbysoave) November 9, 2018
This is actually correct. There, I said it, OCASIO-CORTEZ IS RIGHT. https://t.co/jAeeTYTMsK— Ben Domenech (@bdomenech) November 9, 2018
Best job she ever had. Beats hell out of tending bar, or attending the Bar.
The title made me laugh.
The RATs should just hand her the Speaker’s gavel and let her run the whole damn place. Give the People what they voted for. Between Occasional Kotex, MadMaxiPad and PeeLouzey, the RATs have quite the “female” represenation. Let Kotex rule!!!!
Is that her “partner”, Pancho in the picture with her?
Way to go, Democrats! Your shining star is, uh, really impressive.
I’m sure some Hollywood Socialist can make her a loan.
She can get a room at the Trump Hotel in DC.
She can get a room in one of Uncle Bernie’s mansion-communes.
yet she spent many thousands on Cloths and a fancy watch plus who knows what else
She always looks like she’s on the verge of a stroke. Those neck veins...
She’s just pushing for free housing for all lawmakers. She’s one of the elite now. Isn’t she entitled? /sarc
I remember reading about Congressman who camp out in their offices, use the Congressional gym for showering.
From Bloomberg:
As many as 100 members of Congress, including the speaker of the House, bunk down in their work spaces every night-Apr 6, 2018
So, let her do what the rest of us would have to do...live where she can afford and commute to work.
She’s a commie. She should be able to find something free somewhere? Maybe a tent in Monument park or something? I know it is off limits to us little peeps, but shes a Congress Peep now.
She wants special treatment already ,LOL
She doesn’t need to be there until January. So she can save two months rent by not leaving her current “home” until then. She can rent a post office box in NYC to establish her residency.
it highlights her lack of financial planning. And there’s nothing that says she can’t go bartend for a month or two. She’s not a rep yet.
Looking at that picture, “Wally and the Beaver” popped into my head.
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