Make five bucks an hour. The choice is yours..."...that's my skuullll"
Posted on 12/20/2004 2:10:14 PM PST by Willie Green
WASHINGTON -- Most Americans who rely on just a full-time job earning the federal minimum wage cannot afford the rent and utilities on a one- or two-bedroom apartment, an advocacy group on low-income housing reported Monday.
For a two-bedroom rental alone, the typical worker must earn at least $15.37 an hour - nearly three times the federal minimum wage, the National Low Income Housing Coalition said in its annual "Out of Reach" report.
That figure assumes that a family spends no more than 30 percent of its gross income on rent and utilities - anything more is generally considered unaffordable by the government.
Yet many poor Americans are paying more than they can afford because wage increases haven't kept up with increases in rent and utilities, said Danilo Pelletiere, the coalition's research director.
(Excerpt) Read more at thepittsburghchannel.com ...
So what is the counter-argument? That we should artificially raise wages?
Remind me not to raise a family on the Minimum Wage.
Or it would be nice if the media would stop reporting this garbage. The only time I made mimimum wage was in high school and college - this story is useless. (but still a good post)
"Minimum-Wage Earners Struggle To Pay Rent"
Who knew?
sounds similar to the welfare topic we just did.
where the general response was wondering how many have cellphones, big screen tv's and smoke cigarettes . . .
"For a two-bedroom rental alone, the typical worker must earn at least $15.37 an hour"
What a crock!
I bought a HOUSE and at the time I only earned 9.50 and hour.
Where do these 'poor' people live? Upper Manhattan?
This is why God invented ROOMMATES!
... to live away from their parents. Until they are 18. Or 30. Or until they get their head out.
"For a two-bedroom rental alone, the typical worker must earn at least $15.37 an hour"
Rent a studio apartment. Problem solved.
Maybe they'll have to get (and keep) two full-time jobs and perhaps learn a skill.
Oh yeah, and give up the beer and cigarettes and cable TV and cell phone....
Minimum wage = what a totally unskilled worker is worth.
If you raise the minimum wage, what incentive do these folks have to seek skills to better their life. They may not even if minimum wage doesn't go up, but then who is at fault? (/rhetroical question)
Bottom line: If you only have a minimum wage job, don't have kids!
Well, I suppose we should just raise the minimum wage to $32,000 per year.(15.37 x 40 x 52) That would take care of that. Never mind the fact that a lot of college grads don't start out making that much.
It is time to lower rent, utilities, food, cars, street drugs, booze, clothing etc..so that the minimum wage earner can afford to live middle class without digging and clawing their way out of that station through hard work and good choices.
By getting the government to control all walks of life we can turn the US into the 3rd world countries that so many illegal immigrants are leaving.
Communism is a miseralble failure everywhere it is tried but we're Americans. We can make communism great!
/sarcasm
The lesson here is get a job that pays above minimum wage. Minimum wage is entry level pay.
We pay millions for schools each year so individuals can receive an education and obtain better paying employment. Those who do not will have a miserable time of it.
All this 'study' is doing is simply comparing numbers - not looking at real world stuff.
I've never seen a real world min wage worker working one 9-5 job. A large number are students or retired folks earning a little extra -- those who are not are working 2-3 jobs to get ahead, wife is working, brother and brother in law who live with them are working, plus they're selling crafts at the flea market and mowing lawns etc.
They don't as a general rule stay making min wage very long. That's just a stopping point on the way up. Those who don't care to work don't work for min wage - they sit back and draw government largesse as a general rule (it pays better than a single 9-5 min wage job).
"sounds similar to the welfare topic we just did.
where the general response was wondering how many have cellphones, big screen tv's and smoke cigarettes ."
That was a GREAT thread.
The points you make are well taken.
I moved to California with my wife and two kids, in 1988, and promptly lost the job I went there for, three months later.(They went out of business)
We lived on NOTHING except handouts for about 2 months as I worked part time minimum wage jobs.
But guess what?
One month after that, I had a job as a 'handyman' at $7.00 an hour and I ended up buying my own (mobile) home a month later.
I worked long hours and 'endless' workdays. But it was worth it to keep my family and me 'off the streets'.
Make five bucks an hour. The choice is yours..."...that's my skuullll"
Minimum-Wage Earners Struggle To Pay Rent
Duh.
Next?
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