Renting 'is unaffordable to minimum wage workers in every state,' study finds
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Re: Renting 'is unaffordable to minimum wage workers in every state,' study finds
#2It would be super cool if we could stop domestic and foreign investment companies from buying everything. We need better renter and buyer protections and assistances
Re: Renting 'is unaffordable to minimum wage workers in every state,' study finds
#3I’m not entirely sure how we got to this place but it definitely feels this way in the UK too at times, though the circumstances might be different.
Housing as an absolute expense has risen faster than income in nearly every developed country that I can think of.
But, something that I always bring up when minimum wage is mentioned as a panacea: Sweden does not have a federally mandated minimum wage, but people are paid relatively handsomely.
This is because of strong union protections.
The solution could be unions but I guess the American people have a dim view of unions and companies aggressively crush them.
Re: Renting 'is unaffordable to minimum wage workers in every state,' study finds
#4I'm not american and yahoo has a cookie wall.
How exactly are those people managing to survive? My country has welfare that allows people to pay rent and food. I'm not really aware of how american welfare works, but I guess it varies a lot between states?
Re: Renting 'is unaffordable to minimum wage workers in every state,' study finds
#5I'm not american and yahoo has a cookie wall. How exactly are those people managing to survive? My country has welfare that allows people to pay rent and food. I'm not really aware of how american welfare works, but I guess it varies a lot between states?
I don't know answer but these spring to mind: Debt, overtime, multiple jobs, overcrowding, subletting rooms.
Re: Renting 'is unaffordable to minimum wage workers in every state,' study finds
#6Minimum wage is not the problem as this article seems to imply. People move up from those starter jobs, they don't stay there forever.
The problem is that the politicians and local governments have enacted strict building and zoning laws which disallow for new housing construction. This, in combination with market forces has driven up the price of housing artificially fast.
Re: Renting 'is unaffordable to minimum wage workers in every state,' study finds
#7I’m not entirely sure how we got to this place but it definitely feels this way in the UK too at times, though the circumstances might be different. Housing as an absolute expense has risen faster than income in nearly every developed country that I can think of. But, something that I always bring up when minimum wage is mentioned as a panacea: Sweden does not have a federally mandated minimum wage, but people are pa…
I live in Sweden and I can tell you that it's not so clear-cut. Rent control means that people have to queue for many years for decent rental apartments.
We also have a lot of black market labour. The unions have historically had a strong grip, but are under attack by political forces that want to undermine that market with unskilled workers.
And on top of all this I think that people simply always prioritize living expenses above all else. As long as there is less supply than demand, prices are going to rise until some are out-competed.
People will have to pay, either with their time or with their money.
Re: Renting 'is unaffordable to minimum wage workers in every state,' study finds
#8I'm not american and yahoo has a cookie wall. How exactly are those people managing to survive? My country has welfare that allows people to pay rent and food. I'm not really aware of how american welfare works, but I guess it varies a lot between states?
Below the federal poverty line people can receive food assistance, and sometimes there are state or local programs that help with rent. In general people just work more, borrow more, and live in a perpetual state of financial peril. It’s awful, and even if the situation improves, living like that leaves a lasting blow to the psyche.
Re: Renting 'is unaffordable to minimum wage workers in every state,' study finds
#9I'm not american and yahoo has a cookie wall. How exactly are those people managing to survive? My country has welfare that allows people to pay rent and food. I'm not really aware of how american welfare works, but I guess it varies a lot between states?
I don't know answer but these spring to mind: Debt, overtime, multiple jobs, overcrowding, subletting rooms.
America also has a lot of homelessness. Yes, there are homeless people with jobs, contrary to what most people seem to think.
Re: Renting 'is unaffordable to minimum wage workers in every state,' study finds
#10I'm not american and yahoo has a cookie wall. How exactly are those people managing to survive? My country has welfare that allows people to pay rent and food. I'm not really aware of how american welfare works, but I guess it varies a lot between states?
Work multiple jobs. Or a full time job and gig work on the side. Share rent with others. Rent a room. I believe a chunk of the flooding deaths in the NY flooding was from people living in illegal arrangements (basements setup as rental space.) People find ways as part of a story which stats don't tell.
ETA: Where there's a demand, markets open up. In the Philippines, many people live in "boarding houses" which is a small single room and shared bathroom. In one place I visited, it was a dirt floor, light bulb hanging from the ceiling and a bed which was little bigger than a cot.