🐱 New York millennial can’t afford to move to D.C. before her job in Congress starts

https://news.vice.com/en_us/article...-move-to-dc-before-her-job-in-congress-starts

Millennial congresswomen, they’re just like us. No, really, this one is.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the democratic socialist and youngest woman ever elected to Congress, can’t afford to rent an apartment in Washington, D.C. before her job starts in January.

“I have three months without a salary before I’m a member of Congress. So, how do I get an apartment?” Ocasio-Cortez, 29, told the New York Times. “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.”


Ocasio-Cortez shocked the country when she secured a primary victory over New York Rep. Joe Crowley, the 10-term incumbent who was widely believed to be the most powerful Democrat in the House after Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi. Before she turned to politics, Ocasio-Cortez worked as a bartender.

Now she’s telling voters not to worry about her housing situation.



“There are many little ways in which our electoral system isn’t even designed (nor prepared) for working-class people to lead,” Ocasio-Cortez tweeted. “This is one of them (don’t worry btw - we’re working it out!)”

Ocasio-Cortez is widely viewed as an up-and-coming star in the Democratic Party in the wake of her surprise win, fueled in part by her leftist policy ideas, which more closely align with millennial voters than her future congressional colleagues. She believes, for example, in single-payer healthcare and has suggested taxing Wall Street to fully fund public universities. She also supports “clean campaign finance,” and has said she will not accept corporate donations.

 

[CharlesBarkley]

She can always live in Anacostia or somewhere along the green line, ya know where all the downtrodden minorities that she claims are her people live.

FUCKED UP it ain't socialism unless no scary blacks, no roommates and a Starbucks on every corner

 

[Cthulu]

I don't know where you're getting this unwarranted smarminess from @Cthulu, because it sure isn't from the logic of your arguments.
Who is getting mad over her, even in this thread? Personally, I see Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez as a great source of comedy.
She's poor now, but she'll be rich later.
The source is right in the OP. The salary for members of the United States Congress is $174,000.
She isn't. Nobody said that, outside of socialistic leanings, she was much different from any other politician.
Well, when you're disagreeing with bad arguments and pure obnoxiousness, it makes your own opinions seem less valid.
It means she got out of college debt free, and more than likely even gained money during her stay. Don't tell me that working with Bernie Sanders gets you nothing in return.
Blatant strawman. The poster you responded didn't say or even imply that. Don't put words into other people's mouths. In fact, considering that it was never specified what Alexandria did to actually earn the scholarship, and that she couldn't even finish her scientific studies, while there is a program in Boston University existing specifically and solely to get women in STEM...I'd say there's actually a good possibility she was a diversity quota-filler.

No he wasn't. This is, yet again, a clear strawman. He never even talked about her change of majors in his post.
Of course.
If I didn't know better I'd say you were projecting harder than IMAX.

@Testaclese Maximus I understand that Washington D.C. can be expensive as hell to live in, and there are legitimate problems in that that should be changed, but don't tell me that Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez was in the right not to save up for some rent.

 

[uncleShitHeel]

I still have no idea how people this stupid and inexperienced get elected.

Can someone explain it to me?

 

[Iwasamwillbe]

I still have no idea how people this stupid and inexperienced get elected.

Can someone explain it to me?

Low voter turnout and ultra-leftist district.

 

[Marvin]

Or we could stop making society so unreasonably expensive to live in.

There’s a vast gray area between free and financially-cripplingly expensive. Affordable housing so people can live in the same state they work in without having to work five jobs is somewhere in there.

The US east coast is affordable. Only reason someone might consider it unaffordable is if they have pampered, unrealistic expectations.

The best and brightest shouldn't represent the people. Everyone should, and last I checked she falls under the banner of 'everyone'.

No, the best and the brightest are the only people who should be in charge. The only reason voting is a thing is because it's highly controversial who exactly qualifies as the best and the brightest. Everyone gets a fair shake for that reason, but ultimately the goal is to pick competent, talented representatives, not the average person.

Anyone here ever tried to rent an apartment in D.C. with easy access to the House building? Probably not.

Why would they need to be in DC proper? They've got a lot of options considering the metro. I'm OK with someone who didn't plan far enough ahead having to spend a bit of extra time on their commute so they can live somewhere more affordable.

 

[uncleShitHeel]

I still have no idea how people this stupid and inexperienced get elected.

Low voter turnout and ultra-leftist district.

Gotcha. Retardation. I suppose that explains Chloe Swarbruck as well.

 

[AnOminous]

Why would they need to be in DC proper? They've got a lot of options considering the metro.

I know I wouldn't be. If I for some reason had to live in the area and were getting paid, I'd get some closet sized thing in Georgetown or Alexandria.

 

[CWCissey]

It's for work isn't it?

Bitch only needs a bed, a bog and a kitchen, not a 3 bedroom semi.

 

[Sissy Galvez]

Don’t many Congress critters share houses and split rent?

I’ve seen many Ocassio memes posted in various places, all are hilarious. She’s going to wind up being the Michelle Bachman of progressives. I predict a single term for her.

 

[Jet Fuel Johnny]

She's going to be a salt and lulcow gift to everyone.

 

[thx1138]

Literally nothing I’ve heard of this woman convinces me that she knows what she’s doing

She's a fucking puppet for somebody. That's all I can figure.

 

[RodgerDodger]

I still have no idea how people this stupid and inexperienced get elected.

Can someone explain it to me?

New York City

 

[RG 448]

but don't tell me that Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez was in the right not to save up for some rent.

This is victim blaming and it’s gross.

 

[RodgerDodger]

Anyone here ever tried to rent an apartment in D.C. with easy access to the House building? Probably not.

She could just sleep in her offices like something like 50+ other House members do. They're degenerates who live like animals. Some Republicans even live in a literal group home because they're that autistic.

I've heard a lot of congresspeople basically sleep in their offices because rent in DC is so ungodly expensive and they never have free time to enjoy the town anyway.

I'm torn. On one hand, what I just said may be a clue her situation isn't that special for legislators. On the other, it's a clear sign of how unaffordable a town is made when it is populated by the people who claim to represent us, and that legitimately says something about how deeply flawed our system is when getting elected without being rich in the first place is the exception rather than a rule.

Of course, one thing for certain is that this is only a sob story because she's a young strong minority woman, the fact that the problem existed before she came along matters not to its author. But that's on the culture that wants her to be such a victim to begin with.

She honestly can just set up a patreon though. I think doing so would open a huge pandora's box of people asking why she needs charity from her constituents to go do the job of representing them, how much she'll be in the pocket of her patrons, etc. Of course the corollary to that is that it could shine light on how every other politician is beholden to their backers through more conventional means! I'd actually like to see it.

Wasn’t there recently some scandal where Congress was expressly banned from living in their offices?

 

[RG 448]

The US east coast is affordable. Only reason someone might consider it unaffordable is if they have pampered, unrealistic expectations.

Pampered and unrealistic is how I approach every aspect of my life.

 

[Iwasamwillbe]

This is victim blaming and it’s gross.

So saying what someone did wrong to put themselves in a current situation is "victim blaming"?

Telling people to prepare for bad things happening, or that they should have prepared, is "victim blaming"?

It's (generally) only victim blaming if you're blaming someone for things that it's literally impossible to prepare for.

 

[RG 448]

So saying what someone did wrong to put themselves in a current situation is "victim blaming"?

She didn’t do anything wrong though. She’s just the victim of a predatory housing market.

 

[CWCissey]

So saying what someone did wrong to put themselves in a current situation is "victim blaming"?

Telling people to prepare for bad things happening, or that they should have prepared, is "victim blaming"?

It's (generally) only victim blaming if you're blaming someone for things that it's literally impossible to prepare for.

 

[AF 802]

If you didn't know Ocasio-Cortez was a real elected official, you'd swear to God this was an Onion article. My God, what did she fucking expect?

D.C. has some of the highest rent in the country, and you don't start getting paid until you actually start the job. It's like this anywhere you work, even simple shit like McDonald's. You can't be this plain stupid.

 

[AnOminous]

D.C. has some of the highest rent in the country, and you don't start getting paid until you actually start the job. It's like this anywhere you work, even simple shit like McDonald's. You can't be this plain stupid.

Most decent jobs will pay you to move.