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Comment by ModernMech | Hacker News Reader

I'm not saying Pelosi isn't fabulously wealthy, nor that she isn't engaged in activities which are unethical to enrich herself; but her fridge and ice cream are not evidence of this. The Speaker of the House makes a quarter million dollars per year. That's more than enough to afford such luxuries.

https://pressgallery.house.gov/member-data/salaries

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If she only made the 250k, she'd be spending like 12.5% of her yearly take home pay on a fridge. That seems like a little much.

($250k is like $160k take home with her home town taxes. 20/160 = 0.125)

For something designed to last multiple years, why not? I can look in my garage and kitchen at things I've spent 12.5% of my take home on that I expected to last a decade, including my refrigerator. I do not like Nancy Pelosi, but this criticism always seemed like quite a stretch to me.

Are any of the things in your garage 10-20x the average cost of that thing? That fridge is like the Lamborghini of fridges.

I'm not saying buying something that is 12.5% of your take home income is unreasonable. After all, I own a car. I'm saying that buying a fridge at 12.5% of your take home income is unreasonable.

Why? This is just a statement of your priorities that you are projecting onto someone else, and then judging them for it. Not everyone has your set of priorities. When I was in gradschool I bought a $1000 dollar fridge. That was probably ~10% of my take-home, because I believe you get what you pay for. Am I "unreasonable"? Maybe according to you, but I'm fine with my decision.

If you're going to expend effort judging someone, judge them by their deeds, not by the appliances they buy.

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