A backgrounder on minimum wage, citing several studies, giving pros and cons, along with a mention of the EITC:
Minimum wage workers cannot afford rent in any U.S. state
11–20 of 147 posts
Re: Minimum wage workers cannot afford rent in any U.S. state
#12There's an important caveat, before everyone jumps on the title by itself: > The report, released Tuesday, defines “affordable” as spending no more than 30% of monthly income on rent, in line with what most budgeting experts recommend. The second caveat is this is rent for a 2 bedroom apartment; though they do say that it's also ~95% of 1 bedroom apartments. No comment is made on studio apartments or having roommates…
> No comment is made on studio apartments or having roommates.
To me this is the most telling part. When you are poor you need to have one or more roommates to afford housing and this is not new. What is wrong with roommates?
I do think the US could use more small/studio apartment options for those who have a bit more money and prefer to live alone. I lived in a small studio once and enjoyed it, though I usually had roommates.
Re: Minimum wage workers cannot afford rent in any U.S. state
#13SlateStarCodex on why this is deceptive: https://web.archive.org/web/20200303232829/https://slatestar...
That appears to be debunking an entirely separate graph with different numbers and likely different flaws.
The source of the data is ultimately calculated using similar methodology. The flaws described generally apply here as well.
Re: Minimum wage workers cannot afford rent in any U.S. state
#14Minimum wage workers should mainly be teenagers, young single people, and other dependents who don't need to live alone or for a family, and for whom minimum wage makes sense while they advance in careers. I honestly don't care if minimum wage means you can afford rent. I'm most interested in what percentage of those with dependents are working minimum wage jobs and what percentage of those that started out with mini…
"Minimum wage workers should mainly be..." Because you say so? Or do you have thoughts on specific policies that will make this true? Because currently, many people who need to support a household rely on minimum wage jobs (or close to it), and often without guaranteed full time hours and no health insurance.
Minimum wage workers are only a few percent of the American labor force, and about half of them are under 25. Only about 20% were between 35 and 55.
https://www.bls.gov/opub/reports/minimum-wage/2018/pdf/home....
Re: Minimum wage workers cannot afford rent in any U.S. state
#15Due to how much it cost and also a glut of Federally insured mortgages, housing became a defacto investment for baby boomers.
Housing should be a liability, owning land should be a liability. Neither of these should be investments. That's the true solution to spiraling prices.
Re: Minimum wage workers cannot afford rent in any U.S. state
#16Is minimum wage workers affording an average 1-2 bedroom apartment with no other householders a goal we have set? The French minimum wage is 1,521 euro per month. 30% of that is 456 euros, or about $513. According to the underlying study, the average 1BR in Alabama is $665. Is housing in France, on average, really that much cheaper than Alabama? I don’t think these abstract targets are very helpful. According to the…
Look at it from the other direction. Is working 40 hours per week but not being able to afford a 1 or 2 bedroom apartment a goal we want to set? If so, we have achieved it! I think most of us like the idea that if you put in 40 hours of work every week, regardless of the specific job, you are able to afford a basic standard of living.
You’re begging the question. Is having your own 1BR apartment a “basic standard of living”? When did we decide that? Is that a goal other developed countries have set and achieved? Those are the pertinent questions, not what ideas “we like.”
According to the study, that standard would require a $30-40 minimum wage in places like New York. Is that something any country has done?
Re: Minimum wage workers cannot afford rent in any U.S. state
#17Is minimum wage workers affording an average 1-2 bedroom apartment with no other householders a goal we have set? The French minimum wage is 1,521 euro per month. 30% of that is 456 euros, or about $513. According to the underlying study, the average 1BR in Alabama is $665. Is housing in France, on average, really that much cheaper than Alabama? I don’t think these abstract targets are very helpful. According to the…
> A federal program would basically mean bureaucrats from these states would be imposing housing policy on the whole country.
Funny way to put "providing housing for its own citizens".
Re: Minimum wage workers cannot afford rent in any U.S. state
#18Minimum wage workers shouldn't be able to afford rent unless you think every job should automatically align with the ability to be able to rent an apartment minimum.
That would necessitate the fact that a medium wage worker would have the ability to rent multiple places.
We'd need to build infrastructure and housing so that those medium range workers would and could rent multiple places.
Because right now the idea is if you have a medium income you can afford to rent and maybe own a place. Theres not much waste in terms of each medium wage person be allowed a home.
Re: Minimum wage workers cannot afford rent in any U.S. state
#19Earlier quoted context omitted.
Look at it from the other direction. Is working 40 hours per week but not being able to afford a 1 or 2 bedroom apartment a goal we want to set? If so, we have achieved it! I think most of us like the idea that if you put in 40 hours of work every week, regardless of the specific job, you are able to afford a basic standard of living.
You’re begging the question. Is having your own 1BR apartment a “basic standard of living”? When did we decide that? Is that a goal other developed countries have set and achieved? Those are the pertinent questions, not what ideas “we like.” According to the study, that standard would require a $30-40 minimum wage in places like New York. Is that something any country has done?
Ah yes, the attitude that put a man on the moon. "Nobody else in the world has accomplished this, so why should we even bother trying?"
Re: Minimum wage workers cannot afford rent in any U.S. state
#20Minimum wage workers should mainly be teenagers, young single people, and other dependents who don't need to live alone or for a family, and for whom minimum wage makes sense while they advance in careers. I honestly don't care if minimum wage means you can afford rent. I'm most interested in what percentage of those with dependents are working minimum wage jobs and what percentage of those that started out with mini…
Not only is it no crime for young people to have low wage jobs it could be of benefits in learning. No one can pay someone to learn anymore because its to expensive to even if you find a young person willing to learn and a business owner willing to teach.