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Message Subject This is $7.50 an hour life
Poster Handle Happy in Nature
Post Content
Where others see poverty, I see privilege. According to givingwhatwecan.org her income places her in the top 3rd wealthiest people in the world. If you include the benefits she is qualified for, she’s in the top 17%. She has clothes with no holes, a cell phone, internet, transportation, medical care, a house with solid walls and no leaks, heating and air conditioning, can afford to not have to garden or hunt for her meals, access to a library and the internet for education, time on busses to learn, someone to help with the kid, indoor plumbing so she doesn’t have to haul water, conveniences like diapers, multiple rooms in her house, classy boots, a nice hairdo, jewelry... I can go on.

The biggest improvement she might make is following the USDA’s guidelines on groceries. She can cut her food bill in about half by following their simple recommendations, and feel better/be healthier at the same time. Second biggest improvement is to utilize all the time waiting on busses to read free books from the library or listen to their free audiobooks to gain the next step in her career, using that cell phone.

If she wants to rise into the top 10% of income as most Americans earn, it is good to know she lives in a privileged nation and a privileged city. She can find someone working the job she loves and interview them to find out exactly what she needs to do to get into the same career. If it requires a college degree, she no doubt qualifies for free schooling, or a scholarship. But even jobs which say they require a degree will still hire the right person. I have no degree but my job usually requires a degree, and I am working.

It is only because we live in a culture of greed that a low-skilled worker can earn the top 3rd richest income in the world yet be considered poor.



This is America! This is slavery!
 Quoting: Anonymous Coward 79390582

 Quoting: Anonymous Coward 76878051


You fail to take into consider the cost of living per country.

A full time job at $7.50 hour brings $15,600 before taxes. With one dependent, a full time minimum wage earner brings home $ 14,101.60, or $1,175 per month, excluding insurance.

Any hospital visit requires co-pays. Her subsidized root canal would still require 25% of a ft monthly salary. She likely has some form of medicaid copay or insurance cost deducted from her check.

In Detroit, 1% of apartment rentals are $500 or below. 22% average between $500-$700. The average 1 bedroom rental is $1400.

The average electric bill in the US for a 1 bedroom apartment is $60. In Detroit, the average monthly utility bill (water, electricity, heat) for a one bedroom apartment is $160.

Most municipal water supplies are barely potable. Many people spend $20-$40 for clean drinking water.

A monthly bus ticket in Detroit is currently $60.

Internet/cell phone: $57.

$500 rent (if you live in a slum)
$160 utilities
$60 bus fare
$57 phone and internet
= $777

One is left with $400 to cover food for a parent and child, cleaning supplies, clothing, laundry, insurance copays, fresh water, child care, school supplies, repairs, etc.

If the renter cannot find the slums and has to pay $700 a month, they are left with $200 for food, insurance, clothing, laundry, etc. The person has no life. No entertainment, no birthday or Christmas for the kids, all clothes from Goodwill, no toys or games unless they come from thrift shops and yard sales. No emergency cash if one loses their job or someone breaks into their place and steals stuff.

The full-time minimum wage earner spends two days a week taking care of all of the stuff that couldn't be done in the week - laundry, cleaning, cooking, doctors appointments, shopping. If they are lucky enough to get a paid vacation, they have no money to go anywhere.

This assumes that one can find affordable housing with access to public transportation and subsidized child care and insurance.

Most jobs in the inner cities don't pay much above minimum wage.
 Quoting: Happy in Nature


Bullshitt section 8 pays NO RENT! No UTILITIES AND THEY GET BANK ON FOOD STAMPS BECAUSE THEY are BELOW POVERY LEVER...you lie and are full of crap
 Quoting: Anonymous Coward 15358846


It isn't bullshit, you ignorant troll. That is the bare minimum it costs to live without public assistance. It is pretty much impossible for a single parent to survive on a full time minimum wage job without public assistance.
 
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