Rep. Lindsay Vaughn can barely afford to live in the Overland Park district she represents. The second term Democrat from Overland Park was a manager at a Kansas City area nonprofit when she ran for the Legislature. But after one year working two full-time jobs, the emotional and physical strain proved to be too much. Now, she balances her elected position with contract work out of session. To make ends meet, she took on a part-time retail job during the holidays last year. Her take-home pay last year was less than $30,000. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, median rent in Overland Park is $1,248 monthly, or roughly half of Vaughn’s income over a year. “This job was not built for young people and it’s kind of a fight to make it work,” the 28-year-old lawmaker said. Assuming a 90-day legislative session, Kansas lawmakers are paid $7,979 annually plus $13,950 in per diem. Combined with the allowance Tom Day, director of Legislative Administrative Services, said the average legislat...