$175k seems like a pretty decent salary.

Your proposed role of diverstitute from private business would mean nobody with any business sense would run for office, which doesn't seem like a good thing.

It seems pretty good, until you remember that they have to (not legally, but if they want to keep their job) maintain residences in HCOL DC and in their home district, which could also be HCOL. That's pretty hard to do on 175k