A Penny Saved

Freshman Congressman Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) is taking a novel approach to fiscal responsibility. Rather than renting an apartment, a $1,500 a month expense in the D.C. metro area, he’s sleeping on a cot in his office. According to Chaffetz, “I get paid a very handsome salary, no doubt about it, but you know, I’ve got expenses and a future for my kids and my family, too. ” (Read the full CNN story)

Can you just about hear Congressman Chaffetz’s colleagues laughing about him behind his back? Kind of like the kid who always brought lunch in a crummy brown paper sack, when everyone else had Barbie or HotWheels lunch boxes? In fact, his office neighbor, Judy Biggert (R-IL) likened him to a sort of live-in security guard and made light of the fact that he’s projecting the image of being a “fiscal conservative.” All in good fun, of course. I’m gonna guess that my congressman, Jay Inslee, is not sleeping on a cot in his office. Yeah. Pretty sure.

Let them laugh, I say. Sleeping on a cot in your office and showering every day at the gym can’t be fun but it does sound like the prudent thing to do. What’s more, it gives me hope. Hope that Congressman Chaffetz’s ability to be fiscally responsible with his own money will translate into a little fiscal responsibility with my money. That’s a savings plan I can believe in.

Follow Congressman Chaffetz on Twitter @jasoninthehouse