[jobs_throwaway]

Lmao. $200k a year doesn't even get you a nice 1 bedroom apartment in many of the cities these representatives represent. Let alone pay for the 2 separate residences that they effectively need to maintain.

And you are arguing against strawmen. Please point to an example of two of current Congress reps telling poor people "Stop buying starbucks? Pull yourself up by the bootstraps!"

> So at this point we should have to beg people and incentivize them with astronomical salaries to not be a piece of shit? I think this is just the product of late stage capitalism. Nobody gives a fuck about anything besides money and how to get more of it.

This is the deeply naive view. It is not begging to pay market rate for top talent. The most capable people who we should want to run our government are worth far, far more on the open market than the current salary levels we pay Congress. If we want those people to consider Congress a viable option, we need to pay them accordingly. See Singapore for a strong example of this.

[throwaway2037]

    > $200k a year doesn't even get you a nice 1 bedroom apartment in many of the cities these representatives represent.

This is getting a little bit ridiculous. Manhattan is surely the most expensive housing market per square meter in the United States. You can get a nice 1 bedroom for about 5,000 USD per month. That is 60K USD per year. That is only 30% of their salary.

    > Let alone pay for the 2 separate residences that they effectively need to maintain.

Their second place of residence while in Washington D.C.: That is paid for by the US gov't.

[jobs_throwaway]

$200k a year only qualifies you to spend $5k a month on rent max. You won't be able to get a more expensive apartment.

And no, the US gov't does not give them free housing in DC. Learn some of the basics before you start weighing in.