Depends on what you call a "livable" wage. If it has to enough to pay rent, food(including cigarettes and alcohol), insurance, car, and some spending money, I've heard that that is about $25/hour. How many people make that with one job? Lot's of people work more than one job or more than one member of the family works.
"Depends on what you call a "livable" wage. If it has to enough to pay rent, food(including cigarettes and alcohol), insurance, car, and some spending money, I've heard that that is about $25/hour. How many people make that with one job? Lot's of people work more than one job or more than one member of the family works."
Good point. A lot of jobs are traditionally held by students or less qualified workers with no skills.
But when I was in such a situation in Texas, I was able to support a family of 4 on $1200 a month after taxes, making about $10 an hour.
Mexicans typically make far less than that and drive the wages far further down. I saw drywall hanger pay go from $2.80 a sheet down to $1.50 a sheet in the course of 5 years, from 1978 to 1983 and that was almost all due to the effect of tons of illegal labor.
Imagine what the drywall hangers went through losing about 45% of their income because the government stopped enforcing the immigration laws.