Rantings of a disgruntled federal employee...

So, I found out this morning that I actually don't get reciprocity at my job. Reciprocity is where you get to retain residency in your original state when you work for a member of Congress. So that would have meant that I could remain a Washington state resident while living in DC. This is good because we don't have an income tax in Washington so I wouldn't have to pay any more taxes than I have paid all the rest of my life. And for the last month since I started working for the Senate, I was under the impression that I would be covered under reciprocity and not have to pay the DC income tax of 8%. But I found out this morning that I actually do not qualify for reciprocity because I do not work for a member of Congress from my own state. WHAT!!! This means that I will now have to pay double the taxes on my measly little salary. And on top of the double tax, we will now have to register our car in DC (which also costs more than WA state registration) and I DON'T GET TO VOTE!!! So to sum it all up:

I make less than I did as a waitress 2 months ago and live in a city where the cost of living is twice as high.

I will now be paying 33% of my salary from the government RIGHT BACK TO THE GOVERNMENT!!!

We will be paying twice as much to register our car in DC as we did in Washington.

Our rent here is 7 times what I used to pay for our lovely house on Astor Street and twice as much as a comparable apartment in the Seattle area.

I am now a disenfranchised American citizen who (ironically) will not be represented in the US Congress... although I am an employee of Congress!!!


I was debating whether to write this post in blue because I am depressed or in red because I am so angry... I chose red. And then I spent the rest of the afternoon looking for a new job... in Seattle!!!