"Our whole system" includes the executive and judicial branches, too.  I hear it's far worse there, and we can verify that they spend far, far more money than the legislative branch does, but the average person will never know the difference.  Consumers of journalism seem to have an easy time lambasting the legislature only because journalists have easy access to the legislature.  Otherwise, there's a reason why everything is filtered through departmental PIOs/press secretaries, armed with a bevy of perfunctory quotes/soundbites which say nothing important.  Imagine an ADN reporter walking around the Atwood Building or Nesbett Courthouse unannounced, poking around workspaces "looking for a story".  I don't think they'd make it very far before being confronted.