[misterrob]

$165K with a wife and a couple of kids is not a lot of money for DC. You can likely make it work if you have preexisting wealth but if not then the wife is going to likely be working as well.

[The Old Hoosier]

Maybe if you buy a a house in Old Town or McClean, or a condo right downtown. But I can't see anyone having trouble with that amount on Capitol Hill, Southwest or Columbia Heights, or anywhere in Fairfax County.

[Diverdogz]

Here are the 2006 Federal Employee pay tables for the Washington DC area. Lots of federal government engineers/accountants on other professionals are GS-12 and GS-13s...and there are scads of them in the DC area. Somehow they make it just fine on $100k or less.

I think Justice Roberts is out of touch with how most Americans live.