Over the weekend, our favorite Instagram socialist, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, posted a comment on Twitter to the effect that it was impossible to find a an apartment on Capitol Hill for under $1000/month. And that she was kind of concerned how unpaid interns were supposed to find housing. She also had run into several employees in a "dive bar" and were shocked to find out that they were actually Congressional interns working a second or third job to support their Capitol Hill placements.I don't know if she blamed them for artificially lowering the unemployment rate, but I digress.
It seems that Ms. Ocasio-Cortez has no clue what an internship actually is; and that many of them are unpaid because the person doing the interning is getting course credit or is getting compensated in other ways--like making connections that will set them up for life.
But now, she has decided to be the champion for this poor, downtrodden group who are struggling to feed themselves. She announced that she will pay her interns $15/hour. It's a living wage!
I say good on her. She's actually going to do something other than complain, unlike the vast majority of her fellow House Democrats who do not pay their interns.
Yep, I said the vast majority, 96.4% to be exact, of House Democrats do not pay their interns.
Oh, and Pro Tip? The Republicans in the House are actually a lot better about paying their interns. It seems that 8% of House Republicans pay their little gofers.
In face, the Republicans in both chambers have a much better record when it comes to intern pay than their Democrat counterparts.
Over half of GOP Senators pay their interns; but only 32% of Democrats do.
Ms. Ocasio-Cortez is already trying to virtue signal on her pay decisions. “It is unjust for Congress to budget a living wage for ourselves, yet rely on unpaid interns and underpaid overworked staff just [because] Republicans want to make a statement about ‘fiscal responsibility,’ ”
The incoming progressive icon also called on Republicans to either cut their staffs or raise members’ allowances so wages could increase.
Wait a minute. Shouldn't she be putting this question to the new leaders of the House--the Democrats? Because SURELY there's much more room for improvement on her side.
But she probably won't. Everything is the Republicans fault.
Even when they do pay their interns.
Sandra Peterson
Follow me on Twitter @janevonmises
UNITED STATES - NOVEMBER 27: Rep.-elect Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., and Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., are seen outside a freshmen-only Democratic forum with candidates in contested leadership races in Longworth Building on November 27, 2018. (Photo By Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call)