December 7, 2018
Rep-Elect Ocasio-Cortez proves Mark Twain's quip
By Geoffrey P. Hunt
Newly minted Dem congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez once more validated Mark Twain’s (Puddin’head Wilson) quip, “Suppose you were an idiot, and suppose you were a member of Congress; but I repeat myself.â€
Numerous reports have accompanied O-C’s tweet whereby she will pay her interns $15 an hour.
In the lexicon of idioms, O-C is courageously “offering sleeves from her vestâ€.
Unless she will pay interns out of her own pocket, her virtue-mongering would easily fit within a Congressional budget allotted to each member of Congress approximately $1.3 mil, while sacrificing nothing.
Personnel expenses for each member -- salaries and stipends -- allowed by Congressional rules are pegged at $945,000, with office expenses and travel/communications/security comprising the remainder. Any U.S. House rep can spend the $1.3 mil in any manner he/she chooses, but full-time staff headcount cannot exceed 18.
Ergo, O-C can pay interns $100 an hour or more, while reducing salaries for full timers, or leave full-time slots empty, or reduce non-personnel expense allowances, as long as she stays within the $1.3 mil. A degree in economics or politics isn’t necessary to figure that out.
more
https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2018/12/repelect_ocasiocortez_proves_mark_twains_quip.html