What’s Karl Rove’s salary?

Want to know what people at the White House make? Then click here. Looking through the list, one is struck by how modest the salaries are. The top bracket is $165,200 and only 16 people are in it. Now, admittedly $165K isn’t a bad salary. But the starting salary at Washington’s top law firms is ...

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607925_20bill5.gif

Want to know what people at the White House make? Then click here. Looking through the list, one is struck by how modest the salaries are. The top bracket is $165,200 and only 16 people are in it. Now, admittedly $165K isn't a bad salary. But the starting salary at Washington's top law firms is now over $170,000. Former Supreme Court clerks can command $200,000 signing bonuses. A successful investment banker will be pulling down more than Goldman and Stanford Law alum Josh Bolten a year or two after graduation. (Admittedly, if people like Bolten return to the private sector, they can pretty much name their price.) At the bottom of the list are twenty people pulling down $30,000 a year. Not a poverty wage but really not that generous in a city with DC's cost of living.

Want to know what people at the White House make? Then click here. Looking through the list, one is struck by how modest the salaries are. The top bracket is $165,200 and only 16 people are in it. Now, admittedly $165K isn’t a bad salary. But the starting salary at Washington’s top law firms is now over $170,000. Former Supreme Court clerks can command $200,000 signing bonuses. A successful investment banker will be pulling down more than Goldman and Stanford Law alum Josh Bolten a year or two after graduation. (Admittedly, if people like Bolten return to the private sector, they can pretty much name their price.) At the bottom of the list are twenty people pulling down $30,000 a year. Not a poverty wage but really not that generous in a city with DC’s cost of living.

You won’t find Cheney’s staff on the list because they’re employed by the Senate. But David Addington‘s salary should be there because he’s also an assistant to the president. However, as National Journal points out, it’s not listed. Somehow, this isn’t surprising.

James Forsyth is assistant editor at Foreign Policy.
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