This summer I got hired for my first real job. I work at a coffee shop and I earn minimum wage, which is $8.00. I wanted the job just to make a little extra cash. So the other day when I got my pay check, it got me thinking. I'm using this money just for some extra cash in my pocket. But what if I had to live on this? And some people do.
I only work one day a week, so obviously the people who work full time 5 times a week earn more than I do. But I decided to calculate it out anyway. If you work 8 hours a day, 5 days a week, earning minimum wage, that only adds up to $320 per week, $1,280 per month, or $15,360 per year. And let's not forget about income tax which is automatically deducted from your pay check. So you're not even getting all the money that you earn. I can't even imagine my family living off just $320 per week. Sometimes the grocery bill for one week adds up to $200 and that's already half of the $320 gone. And what about insurance? Rent? Social Security? Health care? Federal and state taxes? And even day to day stuff like doctor appointments and visits to the dentist? There is no possible way that someone earning minimum wage can pay for all this. I don't know how the government expects people to be able to live on such a small amount of money.
In her book, Nickel and Dimed, journalist Barbara Ehrenreich, works four low-paying jobs, to see if she can actually survive the way most Americans do. She concludes that housing costs are just way too high for people earning minimum wage and are literally killing them. Most people have to work two jobs in order to provide for their families. She also thought that the jobs she worked, and used to refer to as "unskilled" jobs, were actually physically and mentally exhausting for her.
Many Americans have to live on minimum wage. But are they actually living, or simply working their lives away just to make ends meet?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
I don't think a person who earns minimum wage really has the opportunity to live. They spend their time working to make very little money, and then using the little money they make to buy necessities like food. They can't stretch their dollar enough to consider some of the other important things you mention, like health care. They rarely (if ever) have the opportunity to see a movie, go shopping, or go out to dinner with friends. The things we take for granted- the things that give our lives a sense of meaning- aren't an option for people that make minimum wage. There is little time for these people to just enjoy life for what it is because they are constantly struggling to conserve what they have.
ReplyDeleteZo-zo,
ReplyDeleteThis is a terrific post. I like the way you relate your personal experience with the larger world example here and throughout your blog. You might want to check out the idea of a "working poor" -- people who work full time but whose yearly wage still falls below the poverty level. This topic is also closely related to the health care debate. Many workers are given, say, 38 hrs./week, so that the employers do not have to offer health benefits. Imagine how damaging a routine injury (a relative of mine just had a knee replacement for over $10,000) would be to a family income under such circumstances. Devastating.
Your blog on the whole is very good. You posted faithfully and on a wide range of topics. Nicely done.