Minimum wage IS a living wage, unless you’re bad with money.

$1k rent/month plus $50 utilities, $200 food=$15,000. You can imagine a lot of other expenses, car, car insurance, clothes, phone bill, gifts, furniture.

But you don't get to keep a bunch of that $14k anyway. Even if you count tax refunds at the end of the year--tough to make it that far--you're still taking home more like $12k at most. So, no, minimum wage is not a living wage even if you're single with no children.

you're right. This is great wages living where you live- Monclova Mexico.

My Rent is less then 1k a month and I have great housing. 500-600$ a month could get you a very nice place here in Cincinnati

When the world ends I want to live in Cincinnati, because they're 20 years behind everybody.

Hey-oh!

$1k for rent a month plus utilities? That’s too expensive. In much if the criticized “fly over country” you can get an apartment in a great suburb for $500-600.

$200 for food per month? Try not to eat out or buy at Whole Foods. Aldi or Costco .

Check out free stuff in craigslist. You could furnish a studio or house with just the free stuff unless you want a 50 “ flat screen.

Medicaid would be free.

Clothes can be extremely cheap. My sister was “best dressed” in our fancy suburb in high school and she shopped at the thrift store.

Car is a luxury. If you’re making minimum wage you’re working close to home. You’re not commuting to a career.

It IS a living wage. With proper budgeting and taking advantage of discounts and freebies, it can be done for a single mother with two kids, with room to spare. And, I would argue, it can be done in many of the suburban neighborhoods with great schools. Pick a flyover state and I’ll make a budget and supply the information.

Mark Twain wrote:

When the world ends I want to live in Cincinnati, because they're 20 years behind everybody.

Hey-oh!

If Cincy is not your taste, you can also find apartments in the $600/mo range in (among others), Houston, San Antonio, Phoenix, Orlando, Tampa, etc.

Major metropolitan areas (Manhattan, NJ, Chicago, etc) will probably cost more, but one can probably find work at higher than minimum wage.

Housing costs (ncluding utilities) can further be defrayed by sharing living space with roomate(s)

Minimum wage can be living wage

I doubt it

I have lived on less than $8000 a year and even kept current on house payments and taxes/car registrations etc. doing it. I couldn't do that now just because the property taxes are starting to approach half of that figure

Naturally nobody would live with me, I was buck naked on Health Insurance plus not setting anything aside for old age either. Before everything else you should at least be aware that you can only save about $30-$50 a month by starving yourself and you better know how to fix your own car.

Minimum rage wrote:

14,000/year.

Depends on the city, but I could easily live on this with money to save.

Why are you so lazy you only work 40 hours a week?

You could make so much more wrote:

Minimum rage wrote:

14,000/year.

Depends on the city, but I could easily live on this with money to save.

Why are you so lazy you only work 40 hours a week?

Why are you so so slow you need to work more for no extra pay. How hard is it to send a few emails?

Doclove wrote:

You could make so much more wrote:

Why are you so lazy you only work 40 hours a week?

Why are you so so slow you need to work more for no extra pay. How hard is it to send a few emails?

?

I agree. You could make more if you’re willing to take on a weekend job. The question though is whether the minimum wage is a living wage. This should assume a 40 hour work week, otherwise the comparison is unequal.

It is definitely a living wage, which could even support at least 2 children in a good school district. No need to live in deplorable conditions at all.

My school is district is a wealthy suburban district, with very nice apartments for $500 to $1000. Easily available are 2 bedroom condos for $700-800 within walking distance of the school and a commercial district with at least 50-100 minimum wage jobs. Some entry level positions at the grocery store or restaurants start at $9/hour. No need for a car.

There is no need to live in a slum and seek social services. Those services will still be there if needed for emergencies, but single mother with 2 children could really make a difference in her life and her kids’ futures if she went this route.

Why are you paying 1k a month for rent if you are working minimum wage?

Either way, it's not a firm's job or moral obligation to provide a living wage in the first place.

$350/month rent

$120/month food

Heck you could even get life insurance and a sweet health plan with $15k a year

In my early 20s, before I joined the Marines, I was living on about 10k a year. 500 rent, 200 food, internet, cell phone, and electricity were my only bills. I was surviving just fine, and even saved a little, but it wouldn't take much of a hit to put me into a really bad financial situation.

I also had no health insurance. No car. No kids. No wife. No pre-existing health issues. No college. No social life.

Most people working on those wages can and do find a way to survive long term, but it isn't much of a life. And I heard a rumor floating around that this is the greatest country on earth. If that's true, its about damned time we stop spending trillions of dollars in the middle east, start investing into our own citizens, and start allowing even the bottom of the ladder to start prospering.

If this country is actually great, we should be able to have jobs, without a degree and a management title, that allows you to afford the basics of a good life, like a house, a car, a kid, a dog, health insurance, and to be able to save a little for a rain day or a retirement.

That isn't possible for the vast majority of Americans.

Minimum rage wrote:

14,000/year.

Depends on the city, but I could easily live on this with money to save.

You should try it!

Minimum rage wrote:

Clothes can be extremely cheap. My sister was “best dressed” in our fancy suburb in high school and she shopped at the thrift store.

Pics of said sister?

First off thanks for you’re service. Seriously.

I disagree that the type of outcome you’re talking about “isn’t possible or most Americans”

That’s the point ofAmerica- it is possible. Absolutely possible. Upward mobility starting with one of the ubiquitous minimum wage jobs in America is only possible in this way. Upward mobility is not possible through transferring money from defense to some ethereal government project. The safer America is to practice capitalism the better.