Posted on 06/15/2018 5:27:42 AM PDT by Simon Green
The economy’s booming. Some states have raised minimum wages. But even with recent wage growth for the lowest-paid workers, there is still nowhere in the country where someone working a full-time minimum wage job could afford to rent a modest two-bedroom apartment, according to an annual report released Wednesday by the National Low Income Housing Coalition.
Not even in Arkansas, the state with the cheapest housing in the country. One would need to earn $13.84 an hour — about $29,000 a year — to afford a two-bedroom apartment there. The minimum wage in Arkansas is $8.50 an hour.
Even the $15 living wage championed by Democrats would not make a dent in the vast majority of states.
In Hawaii, the state with the most expensive housing, one would have to make $36.13 — about $75,000 a year — to afford a decent two-bedroom apartment. The minimum wage in Hawaii rose to $10.10 an hour this year.
It gets worse in many metropolitan areas. San Francisco, Marin and San Mateo counties top the list of most expensive jurisdictions, where one would need to make $60.02 an hour to afford a modest two-bedroom apartment.
“The housing crisis is growing, especially for the lowest-income workers,” said Diane Yentel, president of the National Low Income Housing Coalition. “The rents are far out of reach from what the average renter is earning.”
(Excerpt) Read more at msn.com ...
Bump
I could only sleep in one bedroom at a time when I was a teenager.
No one ever said you should be able to afford a 2 bedroom apartment on a minimum wage job. What nonsense!
This might be true in the expensive metro areas but its doubtful that it applies across the country.
In fact I just checked craigslist for Little Rock AR and found lots of two bedroom listings at $500/month, some of them single family homes.
I never left my parents UNTIL I could support myself ... and it was FAR from luxurious
In the meantime, I went to night school to get a better job and ended up with TWO jobs so I could move to a better place.
It’s called WORK...whether you do that in school (mandatory-unless you are really hard-core lazy and stupid )or in the actual workplace.
Lucky for YOU in America, education through HS is free... and it’s the perfect beginning place for jumping into a career. If you cut classes, if you slept through your classes, if you didn’t take full advantage of the public school experience... don’t come whining to ME!
BTW-In HS I worked my a^% off... all my friends went to games, parties, etc. I stayed in and did my homework... school was not party time for me and it is not meant to be. Unless daddy is a millionaire.... you WORK at getting your grades...or else!
Standing around waiting for hand outs will NOT work.
One word - roommates...
~~~
Also, do what I did when I was young and not making enough money for rent and living; get an extra job or source of income.
Necessity should inspire a sense of urgency in people. It seems almost epidemic that you see the opposite response.
Did anything like this article ever appear when obobzo was Prez?
I know, right? And share your room. Four people splitting the rent of a 2 bedroom apartment is quite affordable.
Then work harder as we do.
I couldn’t either 35 years ago, so got a roommate.
And as I experienced, a job flipping burgers doesn’t make much money, but a full-time job doing so cut my grocery bill down to almost nothing.
My Beer/Food cost ratio was enormous.
The basic premise of the article is ridiculous on its face - the question, if any (and that’s a stretch), is whether two minimum-wage workers combining their income can afford a 2-bedroom apt.
The pea shell truck in this propaganda is that it measures housing affordability for a single person, who does not need a 2-bedroom apartment. Housing affordability is typically measured by Household Income not Individual Income. It also doesn’t consider those working in minimum wage jobs but living with parents to save up money to buy a home. I spoke with an automatic garage door repair guy yesterday who makes like $25 a service call. He and his wife lived with his parents and “ate boloney sandwiches” and drove used cars so they could save up to half the price of a home. Now there mortgage payment is $400 per month (less than rent).
Who and what caused that situation? Congress and their forever deficit spending.
a new car
50" flatscreen
iMac
iPhone
microwave
healthcare
birth control (note: birth control is NOT "healthcare" its a behavior)
WiFi
....
Just a thought here, get skilled.
Oh, it’s worse than that. The list of things people can’t afford while working a minimum wage job is extensive. A new Cadillac. Fine dining every night. A 2 story home in the suburbs. A non-working spouse with a credit card. A family of 5. The horror!!!
3149 W Gracelawn Ave Flint, MI 48504
•2 beds
•1 bath
•900 sqft
•6098 sqft lot size
•Single-Family Home
For Sale By Owner $6,500
30 year mortgage would be somewhere around $50.00/month
There are several listings under $10K.
“One word - roommates...”
Our 22 year old son is sharing a house with 3 other people his age. That’s pretty much exactly what I did at that point in my life.
L
My first apartment was a furnished studio on Cass and Mack in Detroit for $135.00 per month (1978). Sofa bed. Heat included; electric was about $10.00/month. Cable and internet? What was that? I made minimum wage plus overtime. Rent took a week's pay. The hookers kept an eye out for my car.
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