Quote:
Originally Posted by nfotiu
I just think it should have a geographic cost of living adjustment. I feel like someone making $11/hour in some areas has a better quality of life than someone making $15 in some urban areas.
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Snagged from another forum I follow, discussing the same situation:
$11 an hour is about 23K a year gross. Say 17K net.
Lets say for 1 single person who walks to work and their stores (no car)
Yearly Expenses
Rent - 500 a month (6000)
Groceries (including toiletries, housekeeping products, etc.) - 400 a month (4800)
Phone - 50 a month (600)
Gas - 35 a month (420)
Electric - 100 a month (1200)
Water/Sewage - 25 a month (300)
Health Insurance - 200 a month (2400)
TOTAL - 15,720
17,000 - 15720 = $1280 remaining
All that is assuming one doesn't have a vehicle. If you do need a vehicle you need to find a way to run one for about $100/month. Oh and you'd better REALLY hope you never have even a single emergency come up. (Some of those numbers are questionable, you can probably drop the groceries a decent amount, probably 250-300 is more accurate I would think)
Either way, even in a magical place with only $500/mo rent, you're still going to be living paycheck to paycheck with almost no possibility of saving up for emergencies/big purchases, etc.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Derek Sutton
Arkansas, where the minimum wage is $11/ hour.
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This information absolutely just suckerpunched me in the face.
Pennsylvania has kept the federal minimum wage of 7.25/hr. Pennsylvania's cost of living is much higher. But our awful GOP led government has been digging their heels in on this for a decade.
Wow I just made myself really, really angry.
And states like mine are why you need to force a higher minimum wage, and it needs to be tied to inflation/COL. Because states like mine will keep people in poverty for fun if you don't force their hand.