From the Editor

A FRIEND of mine makes a decent wage on Capitol Hill, but not the six figures of the top-level guys who advise the Speaker on which petting zoos to visit and how to smile in public. If he were on his own, he’d be quite comfortable. But he has a wife and three children, which means a lifestyle of constant money worries.

Lunches are brown-bag. There are no tickets to ballgames or the movies, let alone the Kennedy Center. And there is always the nagging thought that maybe they should go back to the Midwest where the cost of living isn’t so high. Nonetheless, when he mentions that his wife stays at home he is always told, “Oh, you’re so lucky,” as if the arrangement were the result of a bequest.

About the Author

Rich Lowry

Rich Lowry is the editor in chief of National Review.

Featured Tags

A FRIEND of mine makes a decent wage on Capitol Hill, but not the six figures of the top-level guys who advise the Speaker on which petting zoos to visit and how to smile in public. If he were on his own, he’d be quite comfortable. But he has a wife and three children, which means a lifestyle of constant money worries.

Lunches are brown-bag. There are no tickets to ballgames or the movies, let alone the Kennedy Center. And there is always the nagging thought that maybe they should go back to the Midwest where the cost of living isn’t so high. Nonetheless, when he mentions that his wife stays at home he is always told, “Oh, you’re so lucky,” as if the arrangement were the result of a bequest.