The last couple weeks I have found myself defending a seemingly impossible to defend position.
That a person earning a minimum wage can be a happy person that actually enjoys their life.
I found that in almost every case I am surrounded by people (typically my friends) that
- assume that everyone wants a highly rewarding day-job that makes a difference, challenges them, gives them the opportuinity to use their creativity etc etc. However, I have found (typically outside my highly selected circle of friends that there are many people that actually want a job that is steady, not really challenging, that they can put aside at 5 or 6 oclock and live a rewarding life by investing in their lifestyle, be it friends, hobbies, vacations outside of a job. (I bet they also sit with their own friends talking about the soul-less (my new favorite word from this) work-aholics... and possibly just one person there is hopelessly trying to persuade for the opposite... just to make things symmetric)
- they assume that when someone doesn't follow the latest trends in organics, anti-carb (essentially what a constant diet) from farmers markets and whole foods would get you) is living a rather unhealthy life style.
- they assume that unless someone has true variety in their daily "joys" be it food or evenning entertainment.. they are practically zobbies. (a good chunk of the teenagers I know would belong in this category, "they can eat safeway or chipotle or panda express or in an out every single day and play xbox every evenning/weekend and spend all their "free" moments looking at funny vines and snapchats.
All the above drives down hard their conclusion that living on a minimum wage is a life that nobody would enjoy living.
I disagree. Against all the tear-breaking stories of all the media and all the congressmen that take the minimum-wage challenge.
Lets first clear a few points.
1. You obviously cannot support a family - not even a single dependent as a single parent making minimum wage.
2. Starting from nothing, ie no savings, no car, no bank account, no credit card, no support system, no friends to live with, to carpool with, to hang around with would make for a very unpleasant and harsh and probably impossible life.
But thats not what is the norm is.
and 3. You probably need to work in multiple places. Most of the minimum wage employers prefer part time relationships which means that you cannot do 40hrs @ a safeway or a mcdonalds easily. You need to have multiple jobs - which does add some complexity and/or variety in your life
Here is what is my typical argument for the life of a $10/hr 40hr/week person.
First lets build the profile:
This is a person that lives together with their friends, possibly sharing a room in an appartment.
Think 4 people in a 2 bedroom home. Thats the privacy level my daughter has at her dorm and I had for 40 of my 49 years leaving in a 2 bedroom appt and growing up in a 5-member family, then with the family of my own again 5 member and until recently living in a 3 bedroom home.
When I said thats a $300/person housing costs in the bay area everybody considered me crazy...
but the truth is that $1200/mo is rather typical rent for low end of san jose appt.
That a person earning a minimum wage can be a happy person that actually enjoys their life.
I found that in almost every case I am surrounded by people (typically my friends) that
- assume that everyone wants a highly rewarding day-job that makes a difference, challenges them, gives them the opportuinity to use their creativity etc etc. However, I have found (typically outside my highly selected circle of friends that there are many people that actually want a job that is steady, not really challenging, that they can put aside at 5 or 6 oclock and live a rewarding life by investing in their lifestyle, be it friends, hobbies, vacations outside of a job. (I bet they also sit with their own friends talking about the soul-less (my new favorite word from this) work-aholics... and possibly just one person there is hopelessly trying to persuade for the opposite... just to make things symmetric)
- they assume that when someone doesn't follow the latest trends in organics, anti-carb (essentially what a constant diet) from farmers markets and whole foods would get you) is living a rather unhealthy life style.
- they assume that unless someone has true variety in their daily "joys" be it food or evenning entertainment.. they are practically zobbies. (a good chunk of the teenagers I know would belong in this category, "they can eat safeway or chipotle or panda express or in an out every single day and play xbox every evenning/weekend and spend all their "free" moments looking at funny vines and snapchats.
All the above drives down hard their conclusion that living on a minimum wage is a life that nobody would enjoy living.
I disagree. Against all the tear-breaking stories of all the media and all the congressmen that take the minimum-wage challenge.
Lets first clear a few points.
1. You obviously cannot support a family - not even a single dependent as a single parent making minimum wage.
2. Starting from nothing, ie no savings, no car, no bank account, no credit card, no support system, no friends to live with, to carpool with, to hang around with would make for a very unpleasant and harsh and probably impossible life.
But thats not what is the norm is.
and 3. You probably need to work in multiple places. Most of the minimum wage employers prefer part time relationships which means that you cannot do 40hrs @ a safeway or a mcdonalds easily. You need to have multiple jobs - which does add some complexity and/or variety in your life
Here is what is my typical argument for the life of a $10/hr 40hr/week person.
First lets build the profile:
This is a person that lives together with their friends, possibly sharing a room in an appartment.
Think 4 people in a 2 bedroom home. Thats the privacy level my daughter has at her dorm and I had for 40 of my 49 years leaving in a 2 bedroom appt and growing up in a 5-member family, then with the family of my own again 5 member and until recently living in a 3 bedroom home.
When I said thats a $300/person housing costs in the bay area everybody considered me crazy...
but the truth is that $1200/mo is rather typical rent for low end of san jose appt.
This person either takes the bus or commutes to their job carpooling with friends that go in similar places. At worse (bus) this would mean $70/mo for the pass - at best , it can be less than that if carpooling etc.
So thats about housing and transportation. Now lets move to the most contentious topic : eating.
Lets add a bit to our profile. Like my daughter in her dorm, lets assume that in the appt, possibly room you have 1) a mini fridge and 2) a microwave.
Now I won't go into details but I would like to argue that today you can live with a healthy diet @ $10/day, while still getting your 2K calories and the recommended food pyramid - by just taking the typical economy meals from fast food places, be it the $1 mcdonald menues, $5 footlongs @ subway etc. My simple calculation is based on a combination diet - [1K calorie - $5 footlong from subway
and assortment of $1 McDonald items, a venti morning home-prepared iced latte) . (would probably avoid buying drinks in fast foods and get iced water and pour in brought-from-home country-lemonade powder) (The above diet would make me happy ( and with the right choice of dollar menus, sandwich choices .. healthy as well) diff people would make diff choices.
So, that adds another $300 (30x10) cost per month.
To see where we are so far (we have spent $700 for housing, food and transportation out of a budget of 176hrs x $10/hr => 1760. Lets chop 15% of the salary for taxes/ => thats $1500 left over.
Ok... we are not doing that bad :-).
Let me jump now :
a $10/hr person working 40hrs a week makes 20K/yr (thats the person we assumed above)
a person that works 60hrs a week (like most people I know do) woud make $30K/yr
a person that moves up the minimum wage rank (let say after years of having the job and showing
responsibility/reliability etc, e.g. moving from $10->$15/hr woul make $45K
And yes that implies a hardworking person shuffling multiple jobs to rake in 60 hrs of work every week. But thats a life that I and most people in my circle have followed and they are happy with that.
And we have assumed an appt -=> minimum maintainance, eating out every day no cooking cleaning.
Now a couple, ie 2 married people with the profile above would make $90K/yr!!!
More than enough to save a for a few years and buy a home create savings and then switch to a
more part-time life to allow them to grow a family.
....
ok ... need to go to my job now
And before that a link to employers like chipottle that build their org from their "minimally educated " minimum wage folks
(I think that enterprise rent a car is similar too)
allowing individuals that start as $9/hr crew member to grow into 6-figure salaries.
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