“As a representative of the people I do not take a penny of corporate cash.”*
- Her contributions list includes Microsoft, Amazon, Adobe, and numerous law firms.
- 61% of her contributions come either from outside of Seattle or from contributors who refuse to give their address.
“While the rest the city Councilmembers pay themselves $120,000/year I only take average workers wage “*
- She claims to take home only “$40.000.” Tis, however is after tax. So (see spreadsheet, her actual pay from the city is about $50,000.
- She gives the impression she lives on the $40,000 left after taxes. That is highly unlikely given the fact that she is paying a mortgage on a $350,000 house, taxes on the current value of $500,000, as well as the usual utility bills. A rough estimate of what is left for living coasts is less than $400 a month.
- However, Sawant also famously refuses to take public transit, using cabs. Four cab fares a day would leave her nothing to pay for food, appliance repairs, Internet, clothing or beer.
- A colleague has also reported that she pays her housemate $25,000 to serve as her campaign manager. Presumably this comes form some other source of income that, as they live together, should be considered part of the money Sawant needs to support her household .
- Other sources of income, e.g. alimony from her recently divorced (Microsoft executive) husband or from her Socialist Alternative Party, have never been declared.
- Sawant also travels extensively by air, though this may be paid for by her Socialist Alternative party and, therefore may not count as income.
“(I) donate the rest to social justice movements.”*
- Of course like anyone else she is entitled to donate to anything she wants or spend the money however she wants. Whether her contributions from her salary are admirable is up to you.
- One thing I notice is the absence of the usual donations most people make to charities that directly help people … food banks, Doctors Without Borders, Goodwill, Red Cross … things the IRS considers as charitable deductions.
“Tax the rich to fully fund our social service.”
- where have I heard that before?
* quotes are from the 2015 Official Local Voters’ Pamphlet