How Much is a Living Wage? | Meet the Press Reports 

I don't know what the answer is, but something is very wrong. I am old. When I got a full time job as a grocery clerk in the early 1970's, I made enough to live happily without debt. I bought a decent used car, rented a clean apartment, ate ok, bought a six pack of Bud and a chuck steak on Fridays, and paid my bills on time. More importantly, in two years I was able to save a downpayment for a small house in Ventura, CA where I lived. Now that house costs $1,000,000 and a grocery clerk will never be able to buy one. We are not the country we once were, we are far less.

it’s beyond inhumane how unserious we have been to address such gaping inequality. To think so many have so much and yet many have barely anything to get by.

A living wage should: Pay rent or house mortgage Pay for food Pay for utilities, phone, internet Raise 1 kid Pay for transportation to work Pay for health insurance/ insurances Anything less is pretty much a slave labor life. That’s why some people prefer to be homeless, instead of working to death and get nothing, when you not working and get nothing, but less stress.

As someone who can't work for more than $10,000 a year without losing state insurance this issue is extremely underrepresented. There's so many poverty traps in this country. I have medical and mental issues but there's no step up program I can work towards. If I make too much, I lose it all. I make _less_ money making more money.

When owners starts talking about how "this company is like a family" run as far & fast as you can. They will without question try to manipulate & take advantage of you eventually. You are there to exchange your time & labor for money. Never let them manipulate you into thinking otherwise. This doesn't mean be rude or disrespectful to your employers. Build as many bridges & advantageous relationships as possible. But never forget your individual value as a human being & do not let yourself be taken advantage of. Employers take advantage of people's desperation when they say they can't pay you a livable wage. They are nothing without your labor. If they can't pay employees a livable wage then they are prioritizing the companies expansion & the growth over their workers. If they can't pay a livable wage then they shouldn't have so many employees.

I used to think $15 was the magic number but as long as landlords can raise the rent as high as they want, whenever they want, quality of life will suffer.

I agree with Tamica's sentiments. The system has a flaw where if your income surpasses a specific threshold, your benefits are taken away. Furthermore, the state considers the income of other individuals living in your household, even if they don't contribute any money. This practice can inadvertently push you over the threshold, leading to the loss of your benefits. In the end, you find yourself struggling once again, being pushed back into poverty. The system is inherently flawed, an unending cycle that seems to work against you at every turn.

My dad worked full time in a warehouse that paid enough for him to buy a house, a car, and cash for his trade school at 25. By the time he was my age, he made as much money as I do now, but 30 years later and I’m smarter, more educated, and more capable in 90% of everything. There are aspects of his job that I can do despite never having directly studied or worked in his industry. Somehow, I’m unqualified to make a decent living and my retirement is on pace to be in my 80s.

Who should we blame for this problem? Who can solve it? Who are the ones who raise the price of things you buy, goods or services? Who decides how much labor is paid? The bosses, the billionaires who own the multinationals corporation, make these decisions. Yet, we blame "Biden" or who ever is in office. The billionaire class controls our government, all 3 branches and the media companies. Yet, rarely do Americans blame those who decide what we get paid and what we pay for what we need.

The prices of grocery goes up every time I go to buy food. The companies make billions in profits every year yet claim they need to raise prices because of inflation.

I remember working minimum wage jobs, I feel for everyone that is stuck there still. It took a lot of work but going from $8 in my teens now to $50 in my adulthood has made me grateful for every penny and allows me to help others in need.

In my college town a married young woman with 3 kids and a husband in prison started receiving government assistance; to get it she had to either be working or going to school. She went to school to get certified to be a hospital worker; I don't remember what kind. She worked hard and graduated with new hope, did a job search and got an good offer at the local hospital. The amount of income was not enough for her to take the job without the government assistance, so she had to decline the offer that just put her over the line to lose her benefits. She was forced to continue her benefits by working a low-wage job, wondering why she made the effort to learn all she had learned. Hopeless. And a continuing burden on the taxpayer. The whole reason for the rules was to get people off welfare.

The truth is it's not just education and good jobs that have been lost over the years it's paid apprenticeships unions and not having a living wage in the country as well as the high cost of everything.

We need more in-depth reporting like this on the major news networks.

Living wage is more than just being able to afford all the important bills. It’s about being comfortable and having the freedom to grow and to have some fun too.

A lot of places won’t hire you full time either. I was told at my interview 15-20 hours per week. That quickly turned into 37.5 hours a week (which is fine, I like to work but 2.5 hours away from full time so they don’t have to give benefits is crazy to me)

Living wages aren't just about "living" It's about "satisfaction" What's the point if all you're able ti do is "exist"

Me making $34/hr, $4200/month, living in Seattle is just enough for myself. Half that is for rent, rest is for food and other bill, but no way I can buy a house on my own. $25/hr now is like $15/hr 10 years ago. Anyone making less than $25/hr are maybe making ends meet

Corporations having deregulation is the problem. Reagan letting corporations reign supreme ended up being the obvious bad idea that it was

The man with the "print shop" saying people used to work 80 hours a week for nothing and that was "okay" is just insane. We know their quality of life, from his own statement, was terrible, their mental health would've been shot, and that would've all been passed on to their children. Why did the successive generations fights for a 40 hour work week, minimum wage guarantees, etc? Some people are so dull it's amazing. It's not about money, it's about quality of life.

In Florida it’s horrible one bedroom is 2000 dollars and the minimum wage is low 😑

GOP vote against raising the minimum wage but raise their own pay by 7000 a yr Think About It

When Adam Smith wrote "the wealth of nations", he wrote one chapter on the wages of labor. He basically said there needs to he a living mininum wage for the economy to work. He even defined that living wage as 2x the cost of living. This allows for people to be able to sypport themselves and the freedom to participate in society and the economy without worrying about your next meal

We are light yrs behind if we're still asking this question. Minimum wage should have NEVER strayed from the concept of "the minimum wage required to live in a state" . The day people started considering it unskilled labor or just starter jobs is when we lost our way ........ almost everyone is underpaid but many people only argue that lesser earnring people don't deserve more money instead of realizing they should ask for more from their " middle class" jobs. There is no middle class , there is only the working class. Meanwhile we have trillionares throwing money into the literal void of space

Getting by is NOT A LIVING WAGE!

I know in the US couples without children aren't considered a family, but those "non-family" people are struggling, too. Yet somehow they are overlooked and ignored. P.S. if your job is a "family" run away a fast as you can! Your job is just that, a job. Keep family separated from your job. Your co-workers are not your besties. Again, run away as fast as you can form those types of bosses!

I have the very similar level government job to what my father had before he retired. At my age he was able to raise a family with 3 kids, have two vehicles, take some vacations and build a house on waterfront, good meals on the table and have savings. I can barely afford a tiny one bedroom in the outskirts of the city and have no kids or a car, struggle to afford groceries now. The only big difference was he didn't need a degree to get the job back in those days now I did have to and started my adult life 50k in debt just to start my career. Just feels like the deck is stacked against us compared to the previous generation.

One of the overlooked challenges with having multiple jobs is you work insane hours but you never make overtime.

This guy is wayyyy out of touch. Has the “if I can do it anyone can” mentality. Skips over how he went to college and how he amassed a 401k to begin with.

They should cover California. My wife and I both have college degrees, good careers, and a solid amount in savings, yet we can't afford a home in northern California.

Even being a single person it’s crazy expensive and I make a well amount above minimum wage in my state! I couldn’t imagine trying to survive with a family Honestly it’s kinda deterred from wanting to do the family thing. Couldn’t imagine maintain a family off my income.

At this point in America, the government assistance programs are really just corporate subsidies. If your employees aren’t paid enough to be able to afford food and shelter within a reasonable distance of the workplace, those benefits are corporate benefits rather than support for the people using them.

And I'm called selfish for not having kids. GTFOH.

Rent, real estate, is out of control and unregulated.

I make 69K with a family. It’s hard to get by on that sometimes. I can’t imagine trying to make it work on 30-45K

If the business owner paid more and reduced turnover, the overhead costs would decrease. I don't get why this is so lost on people these days. Employee satisfaction will keep people around, if they're financially stressed they will be less productive and go to a higher paying job.

If you don’t smoke, drink alcohol, and make food yourself, you can do far better.

The top 1% intentionally set us up this way. Corpos purposely maintain wages just below the line for government assistance. WM is notorious for paying just enough so they're employees qualify. That way corpos pocket more millions in bonuses for CEOs and board members. But employees need help with medical, food, housing, transportation and the big one child care. They also like this method cuz if the employee speaks up, due to pitiful raises or insurance coverage requests, they can no fault fire. Replace with a shiny new minimum wage probationary employee. Repeat process.

Enough to: 1.) pay your rent & utilities or enough to pay for a mortgage payment and your insurance/utilities, 2.) enough to pay for groceries AND medications in the same month, 3.) enough to put into savings, 4.) enough to enrich the local community by eating out and/or attending a show.

I love the question she asked the man why does the product price have to increase when they increase employee wages. Watching him dance around the question. He is an perfect example of what’s wrong with this country. The answer is, what he really wanted to say is. That extra money isn’t going to be taken out of my check. I’m going to either raise the product cost or start cutting jobs. It’s really sad when you break down the salary difference between the CEO and the employees that are actually doing the work. I believe the owners and CEO’s deserve there money. But when you see these owners and high ups with a house in every state and I’m eating ramen noodles every night it’s a sad world for the government to let this happen.

1998 article said $40thousand annually was poverty level income. I worked full time as state employee earning $20thousand annually. I was floored to learn just how much we were grossly underpaid. Those short wages have not improved over the quarter century. SMH

Chuck Todd asks "What do these people want the government to do for them?" People just want a government not controlled by special interest corporate donors. We want the government to stop subsidizing corporations. We want a higher minimum wage. We want free health care, like all other developed nations have. We want free college and no-interest student loans.

What tanika said about welfare is spot on. If she was to make slightly more money, they will take it away. Yet she’s still struggling while on it…….

"Early 1900s people were working 60, 70, 80 hours a week to be broke" . . . . . . . . and the life expectancy was 50 so maybe we shouldn't use a time when people literally worked themselves to death as a gauge

History for the working poor has not changed signicantly. My grandmother worked in the fields of the South, and as a maid $1.00 a day in the fields, during harvest times based on her production; in addition 1.25 a week doing housework. My mother, $12.00 a week as maid full time. Making extra $ washing and ironing, and part time housework. She raised 5 children, first generation high schoolers, and first generation of college graduates. She placed a priority on behavior, and education in our home. Ater graduate school,, for me, also a generational first, a career began with about 25,000 a year. But, inflation, downsizing, layoffs, cuts of federal funded programs stopped my progress before I even considered the 'red flag' of education loan repayments. The possibility of my home ownership applications denied, because of my education loans, debt to income ratios, and unpaid education loans.Thankfully through the years,I have kept the basics of my well being, having one child and me, in7 my lifestyle budget; my apartment rentals, food, clothing, transportation. Still, however, in debt to Department of Education. Here is a despairing problem, for college graduates in America. Many of whom, are utilizing tech work for a viable income level. Others are working jobs not nearly commensurate with their educational hopes. Yet, the American working poor, continues, paying taxes, asking for fairness, but they know whatever happens economically, they must find a way somehow to live. I am retired 5 years now, and I worked 1 full time job, a myriad of part time jobs for many years until my late 50's. I decided one full time job would have to suffice, because I was exhausted. My daughter, has earned more than her Mom, but the continued layoffs, closing of businesses, increased cost of housing, has caused her to struggle many times. Your discussion is good, perhaps Mr. Yang can get past the think tank influences, the government lobbyist strongholds, etc., etc., Its good to hear, he understands the amount of money, the working poor needs just for the mere basics of sustaining daily life. Because the economist are saying we no longer have a middle class. Thanks to both you for your timely, important .conversation.

Thank you for doing this reporting, we need more like this. I think its ridiculous some of us are getting paid $9-12hr, not including tax, then have limited hours for the week while still having to pay living expense.

There are, to me, two facets to a living wage. The first is that it provides enough money to sustain my lifestyle in my city of my state.. which brings us to the second, we should not have to spend 2/3rds or more of our waking life AT WORK just to survive. I also live in Ohio, I need about 2000 a month to live comfortably with enough left for "emergencies", such as an oil change. I am fifty three. I do not have a career, I did not even lose out on that for anything dire; no drug or alcohol problems, no injuries just choices and limited opportunities, I did have ongoing mental health issues.. the "usual" ones of the modern age; depression, anxiety and often to actually crippling degree. Lastly, COVID... I was on the literal cusp of finding that balance; I had a good job at a good company that maintained a good balance of work and life, the dreamt of four day work week with solid pay and sensible benefits.. and then COVID closed it down and they had to let us go. I had to MOVE to another state in the middle of the pandemic and it took everything I had rebuilt, I literally had to leave behind nearly everything I owned, unrecoverably and I am still fighting to back to it.. old, tired, scared and heart sick... I am tired of getting kicked down and right now, I can barely get myself on my feet at all. The system is broken, and we need a change. Now.

If you can't afford to pay your workers, you can't afford to be in business. Small businesses are important, but causing the worker to suffer because you don't have enough profit to pay your laborers is unethical.

Small business's suffer not because of forced raising wages, but because larger LLCs had so much advantage. A "maximum wage" (as a metaphor) is the needed thing.

$1500 a month is not even enough for 1 person and she has children.

Hearing these stories brings me to tears we as Americans deserve better. I work 16 hours a day Monday though Friday 7am to 2am I’m not proud of it, I’m ashamed by the fact that to provide a living wage for my family in Florida I have to sacrifice everything. Americans demand change.

Living wage should be MINIMUM $70-$80k a year.

Living wage has not kept up with inflation there for buying a house is a dream that most of us will not accomplish

Depends what you consider living. If you’re cool living in your car and eating fast food and bulk candy, you can probably get by on minimum wage. If you want to sleep on a couch in someone’s living room and have some fruits or vegetables in your diet, you’re gonna need to lie your way into a management level position. If you want to have your own room and be able to eat out on once or twice a year, you’re gonna need one of them fancy union jobs. If you want to want to own your own home and shop at a grocery store, you’re gonna wanna start an onlyfans. If you want to retire some day, you need to find a way to win a major lawsuit against someone with money (human or corporation will do) America is the land of opportunity. Good luck! P.S. it goes without saying that you will not be able to afford having kids unless you can find a way to monetize their childhood (maybe try turning them into instagram stars?)

I think there should be a regulation that creates minimum percentage of profit, to use toward employees for companies that're making over a million each year.that way it could create a balance between advantage or disadvantage on both side. This way when business are booming employees will not be taken advantaged of, and when business sideways it won't apply to them heavily.

Can we just call inflation what it really is...GREED...Most states still have tipped wage earners at 2.13 an hour...my God it was that amount 20 years ago. If nobody forces the government to raise federal minimums especially for tipped workers.. then the states won't do it themselves...ITS CRIMINAL.. THAT BUSINESSES CAN STILL PAY 2.13 AN HOUR TO TIPPED WORKERS.

really glad they interviewed someone in Cleveland. its really hard out here and employers dont care

A living wage for me is 100k a year. Anything less is poverty!

4:23 no. Everyone deserves a living wage. Period. End of sentence. We don’t need to qualify work between jobs. The surgeon cannot work with out the anesthesiologist, the nurse, CNA, engineer, housekeeper, anyone in the whole “ecosystem.” We all depend on each other. We should all be respected enough to be have a home, healthcare, food on the table and clothing. Those are basic needs.

How the heck is the US minimum wage that low??? The lowest wage in Ireland is $12.50 an hour.

This was a good one. I still think the Yang plan is the most well thought-out we've gotten.

Can't wait to hear millionaires on the news talk about a living wage as if they have any idea.

I was blessed to have a job I loved for 37 years, retired at 54 to take care of my parents. Turning 62 this year and starting S.S. and I will be ok now with 2 checks a month after taking a huge paycheck of over half when I retired. First in my family on either side to retire with a pension, all anyone has ever had is S.S. and it's not enough, was sending my parents money before I retired and have been helping ever since. In the home stretch now, 1st check in October🎃

Being in the medical field for over 20yrs. Working two jobs is the only the way to make it. Unless you are a Doctor, nurse practitioner, or Upper Management level you barely making it. Having my college degree and LPN certification you still don’t get paid enough. Having a college degree doesn’t mean anything anymore. It’s best to go to a vocational school and get a skill and work for yourself.

What we need is a maximum wage, by eliminating the so called "socialism" of corporations (L.L.C.s), which don't pay any taxes or minimal, housing subsidies (tax break for owning a home), etc.. Unless there is a even playing field, there will never be the capitalism of the individual, which this country was founded on.

Unsaid here is also that ppl are working 3 PT jobs to accommodate shift flexibility mandated by corporate efficiency standards. No more reliable 8 hour shifts. If you aren’t actively productive, you don’t work. If the moment doesn’t call for active productivity, you better have another job/momentary gig lined up for those hours. Or you don’t eat. Or you’re on the street.

The bottom line is, businesses are going to have to concede defeat. Continuing like we have is simply unsustainable, because it’s only a matter of time until it gets so bad that we’re rioting in the streets. Either workers need to be paid more, or inflation needs to get under control. Both options means businesses need to give up money.

I am tired of small business owners being used to hold workers back. I am a small business owner and here is my interesting take. The more people are paid the more they can shop. If all that you can afford is food and utilities you certainly aren’t going to come shop at your local boutique. Lifting up the people at the bottom brings profit to all

My mother was on welfare most of my childhood and there was a time when I had to go food banks and had no health insurance as an adult. But I was always told throughout school that I was going to go to college and graduate which I did and after a few years I decided to become a teacher in the early 2000s. My salary is above 100k (finally).

The potential benefits of a living wage: A living wage can have a number of benefits, including: Reduced poverty: A living wage can help to reduce poverty by ensuring that people have the resources they need to meet their basic needs. Improved health: A living wage can help to improve health by reducing stress and providing access to healthier foods and housing. Increased productivity: A living wage can help to increase productivity by ensuring that workers are well-rested and healthy. Ultimately, the amount of money that is considered a living wage is a complex issue with no easy answer. However, it is an important issue to consider, as it can have a significant impact on the lives of low-wage workers and their families.

For those of you who think Yang is the leader we need, keep in mind these ideas he offered in an interview in May 2020: «er he suggested automating the jobs of fast-food workers, who would be embroiled in a local push for unionization just months later. And during a show in June 2019, he said the Democratic Party “needs to try and gravitate away from identity politics,” calling it a “stupid way to try and win elections,” » And January 2021: «He also did not rule out charging city workers more toward their health care premiums in a policy questionnaire POLITICO sent to the mayoral candidates in January. “I am not inclined to balance our budget in this way, although I do understand that this is one of many options on the table,” » April 2021 «By most standards, he does tack more moderate. He wants to grow some parts of the NYPD. He seeks corporate partners like JetBlue. And he discourages higher taxes on the wealthy. “If you raise taxes at a level where people actually vote with their feet and also head to Florida, then you’re not serving the policy’s goal, which is generating revenue for the state or the city,” he told the pro-business Association for a Better New York.» In addition, though, and to keep context «At the same time, he proposes dropping tax breaks for the likes of Madison Square Garden and adopting NYPD reforms like a civilian commissioner and a city residency requirement in hiring. “So you would have hundreds of off-duty officers walking around, which I think would actually improve the atmosphere and sense of public safety,” he said at the Met Council mayoral forum.»

A single day’s salary for a top executive is enough to pay a whole year’s worth of a single worker’s salary. Let that marinate for a while…

Yang has some good ideas. Too bad none of the status quo will go for it.

Love the piece on the minimum wage coverage. Thank you for showing this to the world.

Something doesnt add up - I worked at UPS and I was doing minimum $500 a week… and all my coworkers. $2k a month. Plus her gig work, she’s doing well over $2500 a month.

what I don't see people talking about is that the majority of common easily accessible jobs that make up the majority of the workforce *may* pay $15, $17, $20 an hour, but only offer 5-10 hours a week. people tell me all the time "Go work at Target they are starting at $20 an hour" while every person there only gets one shift a week except the managers and supervisors. $15 is great, but at 10 hours a week that's only $150 a week or less than $8000 a year. I walked out of at least 20 interviews after I asked them how many hours a week would I get. every job that I have worked at had their employees begging for more hours, while the employer tries to keep them at 5-10 hours a week and requires open availability making it harder to get 8 jobs to get that 40 hours a week lol, $15 means nothing without actual hours worked. I worked for stores that only had 15 employees, except the manager and supervisor who got 40 hours a week, the rest of us got 10 hours a week, or around $6000 a year, collectively excluding the managers is around 90k paid out to the employees a year in wages, 60,000 in rent and utilities to run the place, 80-95% markup on the items, a 5million dollar a year store, so roughly 4.2million dollars profit from one store out of a chain of 800 every year, *couldn't afford to pay us more*, having us at 40 hours a week STILL would have put the store around 4million bucks a year in profit yet nope, can't do it. Then you have the people who say "Then find a better job", there are only so many "better jobs" out there, 50 million people just can't get up from their crappy job and just get handed one, it is not that easy and if it was possible the stores that 'run America would all collapse, no retail, no food, no gas stations, gone. I have a degree, I have a work history, and many skills, yet usually, the ones who get these 'better jobs' are often handed to them because they know someone in the industry while the 1000 qualified people who went for it have to start looking again. but what people need to redirect their attention is to why the jobs aren't paying their people, they can afford to do so they are just greedy, minimal wage jobs are not just for 'extra cash' they are "minimum wage for survival" $1000 rent, $200 car payment, $500 utilities/bills/gas, $400 food for the month, I dont even know how much health insurance is because I could never afford it, but that would be roughly 14$ an hour at 40 a week, more for health insurance so around $2100 a month, its hard finding a job that will just pay $800 a month. I usually worked and slept in my car for the longest time. but i know some places increased their rent, in our area many one-room apartments are $1500 now, i bought a cheap car but many get a $400 a month payment, if i want to live a decent food budget $100 a week (i can get it down to $10 if needed) but I know many who do $200 a week. luckily I was able to turn one of my skills into profit this year so, no longer trapped working for people anymore and est an income of around 50k a year, thankfully. i know so many people consider me "broke" but if you live within your means 50k a year would make me rich.

Universal Health Care. We can do better than this 'for profit' system and Insurance gouging.

This should be the main issue, the almost only issue, of voters today. But somehow we are supposed to give a crap about taxes on people so rich that it's actually more affordable for them to target donations where they see fit.

Hey, here's a thought, if business owners want wages to stop rising, readjust prices to fit with the minimum wage? Yeah, the business owners will make less, but they'll in turn fix cost of living and in turn no longer have to deal with increasing wages (because if prices fit within the minimum wage, it means more accessibility).

The worst part about this is all the predatory lending that trolls lower income people and then getting them stuck in a debt trap with crazy high interest rates and the only out is bankruptcy.

My paycheck went a lot farther 4 years ago

Never forget that the ideal worker in the eyes of the owners is a slave, and they would still complain about upkeep costs.

2:59 Why is this news? She's working only 20 hours a week and able to pay her bills... That would be impossible in previous generations.

I serve food daily each month at a homeless shelter. They have some residents with jobs but unable to move out soon due to the job not paying enough. A few have actual college degrees too.

3:48 Her living wage is just barely paying the rent. It's not owning a home. It's just surviving. It's a wonder Americans aren't running for international borders, as economic refugees.

if your small business can't afford workers (and workers need a livable wage) then maybe your business does not deserve to survive. it's simply not good enough to survive

There is a very simple answer to this question : A single person working a full time job of 40 hours per week should be paying no more than 33% of their take home pay for cost of living , ( rent , utilities , groceries ) . Each State should set Minimum Wage under these guide lines .

Welfare needs to be seriously rethinked so it doesn’t punish people for improving their situation

We criticize China, and we are doing the same thing. Making the rich richer and us poor.

Personally, and I stand by this even against friends and family, I dont think anyone should have the right to make their riches by keeping others in poverty. If a business owner cannot afford to pay their employees a living wage then they cannot afford those employees.

ah so she flat out says she wont work because they will lose her gov. handouts. AND THATS THE PROBLEM

I had to give up my apartment and move back in with my mother. We are helping each other with expenses

"How do people feel,He says." I can tell you how ,I feel. That no matter what job you have, that person should be paid enough money to take care of them selfies and there family, raise there kids, and the leaders should make sure of this.

As a life long resident of York Pa you got it right. This is why nearly all of Southern York residents are employees of baltimore, Washington DC and northern VA.

What about we get these large corporations to pay a living wage instead of us subsidizing corporations with food stamps and other social programs for employees.

There’s a difference between living and surviving…

For mental health & financial reasons i couldn't be a parent anyway. Things are so expensive these days and its only getting worse and worse. If anyone else has any feedback its welcome but lets keep it positive.

Living wage is the minimum amount of money for a working person to be a productive and contributing member of society. If we follow what FDR established and kept it in stride with inflation, it would be $67 per hour right now, thank Regan and Nixon for killing that. A living wage right now is $37 per hour for the average person in the USA. Rent is about $1,100 renters insurance $100 per month electric $150 water $90 internet $90 food $500 9the just groceries, not going out to eat). The place you’re renting requires you to have an income of 4 times what rent is. Suffice it to say the Republicans need to get their heads out of their a$$es before all the Gen X, Millennials, and Gen Z start the next revolutionary war and force all the idiots out of office. History has shown us that is the only way to get things to change for the better.

The simple solution is to gut CEO, COO, and corporate executives salaries. Yes, they run the company to make sure it doesn't sink but you can't ignore all the gears and manpower that enables said ship to stay a float.

This country needs help