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MIT Living Wage Calculator

livingwage.mit.edu

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Re: MIT Living Wage Calculator

#161

Post by prepend »

jltsiren wrote: post #145
prepend wrote: post #10

I don’t think this is very accurate. In my county the “living wage” is $26.50 for a single adult with no children. Many young people I know live on much less than this. This is more like “optimal wage to live alone in my own apartment with a car.” Which of course, people would like to have but certainly isn’t required to be comfortable. For example, transportation costs are $9000/year and housing is $20000/year. Thes…

"Living wage" means what a household needs for a dignified life, not just for bare subsistence. If you need roommates because you can't afford an apartment on your own, you are poor by definition. That's probably the most universal definition of poverty that has ever existed. As long as there have been houses, the baseline household has had a housing unit of their own. Households that have to share housing with other…

Not dignified. As you can live a dignified life for much less.

Thus my point. I don’t know what “livable wage” means with these numbers so it’s not very useful for discussion or planning or measurement.

Re: MIT Living Wage Calculator

#162

Post by prepend »

gs17 wrote: post #73
prepend wrote: post #10

I don’t think this is very accurate. In my county the “living wage” is $26.50 for a single adult with no children. Many young people I know live on much less than this. This is more like “optimal wage to live alone in my own apartment with a car.” Which of course, people would like to have but certainly isn’t required to be comfortable. For example, transportation costs are $9000/year and housing is $20000/year. Thes…

> For example, transportation costs are $9000/year and housing is $20000/year. These are both way more than is necessary. Even on the smaller things. "Internet & Mobile" for where I am jumped out to me. Based on the difference between 1 adult and 2 adults, it's $582 per person-year for mobile (which I guess isn't far off if you get a good new phone every 2 years, it's reasonable enough) and with that subtracted, inte…

I think I have great access. I pay $60/month for gig internet and that’s split with 4 people.

I spend $20/month for mobile and buy a new $500 phone every 3 years.

I make way more than a livable wage, but spend much less than their projected costs.

Re: MIT Living Wage Calculator

#163

Post by bumby »

still-learning wrote: post #96
losvedir wrote: post #77

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Having a private room is not the same as living alone (having a private apartment/house). I think it's reasonable for young people to have flatmates and share an apartment, for example.

Its reasonable, but as we've advanced humanity in so many other fields (medical, technical, agricultural) why shouldn't the base standard of living also be increasing.

I agree with the sentiment, but the premise of capitalism is that those advances also become cheaper due to market efficiencies. In other words, people should be able to have a higher quality of life for relatively lower cost. If/where that actually occurs is a whole different discussion.

Re: MIT Living Wage Calculator

#164

Post by prepend »

pyrale wrote: post #64
prepend wrote: post #10

I don’t think this is very accurate. In my county the “living wage” is $26.50 for a single adult with no children. Many young people I know live on much less than this. This is more like “optimal wage to live alone in my own apartment with a car.” Which of course, people would like to have but certainly isn’t required to be comfortable. For example, transportation costs are $9000/year and housing is $20000/year. Thes…

> This is more like “optimal wage to live alone in my own apartment with a car.” An appartment and a car aren't exactly luxury goods. Cars are often needed to work, and well, having a roof over your head is usually required for a decent living. Sure, if you fancy living in a cardboard box located next to your work, your living standards are going to be much easier to attain.

$700/month on car+gas+insurance is certainly pretty cushy. This is a luxury for many people I know.

Their cost estimates are much higher than what’s required to live comfortably and save for a rainy day.

Re: MIT Living Wage Calculator

#165

Post by Jtsummers »

newsclues wrote: post #157
prepend wrote: post #10

I don’t think this is very accurate. In my county the “living wage” is $26.50 for a single adult with no children. Many young people I know live on much less than this. This is more like “optimal wage to live alone in my own apartment with a car.” Which of course, people would like to have but certainly isn’t required to be comfortable. For example, transportation costs are $9000/year and housing is $20000/year. Thes…

Is a living wage there bare minimum to live or enough to live a life? I don’t make a living wage for my region and while I can afford food and a room to rent, I can’t really live a decent life, save for the future or invest in myself, I just barely get by every paycheque to paycheque. Thanks

> Is a living wage there bare minimum to live or enough to live a life?

More the former. A lot of the commenters here are missing that detail. A living wage doesn't mean you can afford all the nice things, it means you aren't starving and can cover the needs for you and your family, but maybe some, but not many, wants.

Re: MIT Living Wage Calculator

#166

Post by bumby »

bradlys wrote: post #103
losvedir wrote: post #77

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Having a private room is not the same as living alone (having a private apartment/house). I think it's reasonable for young people to have flatmates and share an apartment, for example.

A living wage shouldn't be based upon what wages a student could be comfortably living on for a couple years before they get their $500k/yr new grad quant job. It should be based upon what people could live on comfortably indefinitely. It's not "student wage". It's not "struggling young person" wage. It's "living" wage. It's for living - at any age.

Does this then imply some jobs are not intended to supply a living wage?

Eg does that quants internship get a lower pay because they are expected to graduate beyond it? If so, how do we define what jobs are stepping stones and which are long-term careers?

Re: MIT Living Wage Calculator

#167

Post by kibwen »

prepend wrote: post #159
overgard wrote: post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Hard disagree on this. $26.50 sounds like a nightmare 10 years ago, let alone now. There's a lot of places in the US where having a car is essentially mandatory (actually, most places). If you can't afford a car, that limits where you can live to mostly urban areas, which then pushes the housing cost up.. and by the way, housing costs are always going up, and no, you won't be able to invest in a home, you've been pri…

It’s obviously not required based on the evidence of many people who live and thrive without. $9000/year is a ton more than just having a car.

The average total cost of car ownership in the US in 2025 was about $12,000. $9,000 is already a huge underestimate of what the average person is paying.

Re: MIT Living Wage Calculator

#168

Post by blobbers »

How are they getting medical costs in San Mateo County so wrong.

$11,896 with 2 children? My Kaiser $14K deductible bronze plan costs $2100 a month. That's more like $25K a year, and that's before I use it... the only reason I have it is in case something traumatic happens. This is the cheapest plan I can get on covered california.

Re: MIT Living Wage Calculator

#169

Post by prepend »

NewJazz wrote: post #33
prepend wrote: post #10

I don’t think this is very accurate. In my county the “living wage” is $26.50 for a single adult with no children. Many young people I know live on much less than this. This is more like “optimal wage to live alone in my own apartment with a car.” Which of course, people would like to have but certainly isn’t required to be comfortable. For example, transportation costs are $9000/year and housing is $20000/year. Thes…

Are those people funding their retirement? Are they going to be able to take care of themselves as health issues come up? Are they receiving support from family? Edit: also the housing cost is probably factoring in a studio or maybe a 1bd for a single person. That may seem luxurious to you, but for many that is the only real option they have (roommates are hard to come by and can hurt you physically and fiscally).

No, roommates aren’t hard to come by. As evidenced by the millions who have roommates.

In my 20s everyone I knew had roommates. And it was a good life.

Saying a studio or 1 bedroom is required makes this metric pretty ambiguous.

Thus my point, that this isn’t what’s required to just live. But to live comfortably.

Re: MIT Living Wage Calculator

#170

Post by burkaman »

jandrewrogers wrote: post #147
burkaman wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Every single nation on Earth has mandatory paid vacation, except for the United States and three tiny islands: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_minimum_annual_leave_b... . Edit: And looking into it a little, I'm pretty sure two of those islands actually do have mandatory paid leave after a minimum period of employment.

Mandatory vacation, like education, mandatory IDs, and myriad other laws are the sole jurisdiction of the individual States to decide. There will never be a "US" law about these things. Most questions that start with "why is the US the only country..." can be explained by the fact that the States decide and the US government can't force the States to make laws. Similarly, there is no US law against most crimes. It do…

There has been a federal law for mandatory family and medical leave for 30+ years (https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/fmla). It is unpaid and doesn't cover all workers, but that's a legislative detail that could be changed. I don't see any legal or constitutional reason that unpaid leave can be federal but paid leave can't.
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