Quote:
Originally Posted by New Era
I was working from 2018 numbers that I used in a report on poverty to our district on the effects of education and social mobility on disadvantaged communities. This was all paid for research so I'm not at liberty to share those exact numbers as they are proprietary. Here are some of the latest numbers from this year. Things have dropped a little bit, down from fourty-seven and change to $46K and Mississippi has actually risen in the ratings. Low state is now Kentucky at $43,303, high is Hawaii at $61K. |
From the site: " In public policy, advocates define the living wage as the minimum income necessary for a worker to meet their basic needs. Basic needs include housing, food, healthcare, and other essential needs."
Our Mississippi basic needs can't include lower end housing, so lets use the median rent for the whole state.
742*12 = $8904/year
Having a car is a basic need? Maybe some places. Let's include it. Insurance.com says Mississippi costs $26,063 for vehicle ownership over 5 years. 26,063/5 = $5,213/year
For utilities and internet, I used $230/month and $46/month. Then Netflix for $9 and $60 for cell service. Source here:
https://www.expatistan.com/cost-of-l...on-mississippi
(230+46+9+60)*12 = $4140
I couldn't find the cost of food in Mississippi, but I found a reference to Statistics Canada saying the average person spends $214/month on groceries. Lets assume our basic income person has two dependents, and that groceries cost the same in USD in Mississippi as they do in CAD here (so that's giving them a 30% bonus, effectively). We'll add another $125 for cleaning supplies and personal care items.
$767*12 =$9204/year
That gets me to $27,461. I've included high speed internet, netflix, and an unlimited data cell phone plan. Food, rent, utilities, and all costs for a car. Seems to have the basics covered. All that's really missing is taxes and healthcare. If that's more than 20k maybe that's the place the US should be starting...