41–50 of 58 posts
Earlier quoted context omitted.
How dare single parent families expect to live somewhere decent.
They should expect to live somewhere decent. They should also expect to be responsible for making sure they have marketable skills and enough money to afford it.
The argument here is comparing the AVERAGE rental price with the MINIMUM wage, and then concluding that the minimum wage is less than the average rental? Well no shit! States that have rich people will have a higher average. But there are also plenty of cheap 2-bedroom apartments too! Why don't you compare the MINIMUM available 2-bedroom price with the MINIMUM wage? Then you can see if our poor can afford to live.
2. The California prices mentioned seem to be weighted to population (Rent in large cities). I have a 2br. rental unit in the eastern sierra, and the market there only allows me to charge $900.00/Month.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
In additional most of these lower wage job should be for younger high school age or college students. A grown adult(lets say 25) shouldn't be working the entry level position at MickeyD's. That should be an outlying case and policy shouldn't be decided on corner cases. Youth unemployment is significantly higher than the national average and if wages are mandated even higher then no one will take the chance on a 15 ye…
I dunno, I don't think it is an unreasonable aim of society that if you are supplying your labour to someone (why shouldn't this include McD's?), that you are able to at least live a reasonable life. By that I mean secure accomodation (not large, but comfortable), food and transport.
But I don't think it's fair to expect it to support a family or a solo apartment.
Because a lot of minimum wage workers do live with mom and dad or live in a bunch of buddies. Artificially increasing their salaries hurts families who have to pay more for products and services.
The article doesn't address why the hourly wage for 2-bedroom is relevant in relation to say, a 1-bedroom, studio, or mansion. Looking briefly at the BLS data, it seems that there are about equal numbers of single- and double-earner households. It's not clear to me that a single-earner household should expect to be able to rent a two bedroom apartment.
How dare single parent families expect to live somewhere decent.
Should a 19 year old community college student get 20 bucks an hour scooping ice cream because that's what you'd need to support a family of 5?
Like Pavel says above/below, state level data like this is ok, but county level or even finer-grained data would be a lot better. There's a big difference in cost of living between Portland, Oregon and Burns, Oregon.
However, I would also guess there's a big difference in the amount and kind of jobs available.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
I dunno, I don't think it is an unreasonable aim of society that if you are supplying your labour to someone (why shouldn't this include McD's?), that you are able to at least live a reasonable life. By that I mean secure accomodation (not large, but comfortable), food and transport.
The issue what is a reasonable life? We make our enlisted soldiers live in a barracks and eat cafeteria food. Minimum wage could afford that sort of lifestye. And I think it's fair to expect a job to provide for that. It could provide a dorm experience. But I don't think it's fair to expect it to support a family or a solo apartment. Because a lot of minimum wage workers do live with mom and dad or live in a bunch of…
That is something that occurred in the early days of industrialization, and still occurs in factory towns in newly industrializing economies, but not in the contemporary US. Where everyone is expected to finance a car and a single-family detached house.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
The issue what is a reasonable life? We make our enlisted soldiers live in a barracks and eat cafeteria food. Minimum wage could afford that sort of lifestye. And I think it's fair to expect a job to provide for that. It could provide a dorm experience. But I don't think it's fair to expect it to support a family or a solo apartment. Because a lot of minimum wage workers do live with mom and dad or live in a bunch of…
Who is actually building these barracks-style accommodations for minimum wage workers? That is something that occurred in the early days of industrialization, and still occurs in factory towns in newly industrializing economies, but not in the contemporary US. Where everyone is expected to finance a car and a single-family detached house.
See also the recent HN discussion about trailer parks: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9592812
Earlier quoted context omitted.
The issue what is a reasonable life? We make our enlisted soldiers live in a barracks and eat cafeteria food. Minimum wage could afford that sort of lifestye. And I think it's fair to expect a job to provide for that. It could provide a dorm experience. But I don't think it's fair to expect it to support a family or a solo apartment. Because a lot of minimum wage workers do live with mom and dad or live in a bunch of…
Who is actually building these barracks-style accommodations for minimum wage workers? That is something that occurred in the early days of industrialization, and still occurs in factory towns in newly industrializing economies, but not in the contemporary US. Where everyone is expected to finance a car and a single-family detached house.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Who is actually building these barracks-style accommodations for minimum wage workers? That is something that occurred in the early days of industrialization, and still occurs in factory towns in newly industrializing economies, but not in the contemporary US. Where everyone is expected to finance a car and a single-family detached house.
This is a deep problem -- but not one to solve by messing with the minimum wage. It's largely a zoning issue. High-density housing lowers nearby property values (for many reasons), which means people tend to vote against policies that would allow it. See also the recent HN discussion about trailer parks: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9592812