This weekend, I played tour guide to a few of my wife’s relatives who had never been to Washington, DC. Our itinerary forced me onto Capitol Hill, a part of the city where I rarely have cause to go (a fact that probably explains why I continue to like Washington). It was a good reminder of  how many prime parking spaces are reserved not only for Representatives and Senators, but also many of their employees, not only in staff garages but also in auxiliary lots. Talk about great perk: For those who commute into Washington, parking is at a premium (as it is for those who drive to metro stations). Parking isn’t as expensive as it is in New York, but it can easily cost more than $10 a day. Even though federal salaries are higher and higher, the perk continues. Salaries for Congressional staffers aren’t very high, but free parking is still a perk about which their compatriots in the private sector can only dream.

The problem with free parking is two-fold. First, if there is a single group of people who should not be insulated from the realities of daily life, it is Congress. How can they govern and troubleshoot if so few have no inkling of what unprivileged life is like?  Certainly, they need parking for those important votes, but in the ordinary world, people would just leave with plenty of time to spare, even if it meant a great deal of wasted time.

And even if senators and congressmen got their spaces as a perk of the job, it is unclear why their staff should enjoy free parking in prime real estate. Let’s assume—and this is a low-ball number—that 1,000 parking spots (an arbitrary number I’m pulling out of the hat) in and around Union Station and the Capitol could bring in $30 per day (another arbitrary number predicated on the assumption that multiple cars would park in a single space during the course of the day) if metered and available to the general public, then Congress is simply absorbing $30,000 per day, or more than $10 million per year. Of course, far more than 1,000 parking spots are at stake. Alas, while I’m all for the principles of small government driving the Tea Party, it seems that if parking is an indicator, too many are more than willing to accept arbitrary privileges and forget their ordinary roots.