What does minimum wage get you?

Originally posted by Zahlanzi...
a single adult needs 205$ a week for the "thrifty" plan. in 2014. it's been 3 years since then. Do you think "thrifty" is an assuring term for someone working a highly physical demanding job? ...

You misread your link, I guess. $200/month is plenty for one person, thrifty. That can double or triple when you're hungry and self-indulgent. Your link agrees with me here.

Ente is entertainment, sorry. I low-balled that figure too. $25/wk! Wow. You better be self-sacrificing to move ahead as a poor person.

Originally posted by sh76
Doing this without accounting for all of the government benefits Bob is eligible for is a pointless exercise.

List those benefits, please. (I'm working poor, and could use some help.)

Originally posted by Eladar
Cost of living is relative. Prices are set by demand. Try to rent a place charging $600 per month when no one makes more than $50 a month?

As people make more money, prices go up accordingly.

Only some prices go up. Many things are cheaper in the US than in Zambia or South Africa.

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Life is hard. Its even harder here in South Africa on less than the equivalent of US minimum wage. And even harder in Zambia on a tenth of that.

In the USA, one can survive without a phone and internet access, but that lack would
make it much harder to find a job or to get a better job.
Same here. Nevertheless, the vast majority of people do not have a land line and fast internet access. Cell phones, yes, most people have them, but they cost more here than in the US.

Originally posted by Zahlanzi
this
is
about
the
US
minimum
wage.

Can't take criticism I see.

do you want to make a budget based on the US minimum wage and on living in the US?
I have already pointed out that I have live on a lower budget than that all my life. Most things are more expensive here btw. You mentioned car payments. I have never in my life bought a car that required monthly payments. I could not afford a new car. My car was made in 1997 and I paid cash for it.

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That is most certainly true. The definition of 'living' also varies much from place to place. The reality is, however, that many things in the US are cheaper than much of the rest of the world and the vast majority of people there, including those on minimum wage, enjoy a higher standard of living than those in the rest of the world (on average). If a moral argument is being made, then those in the rest of the world should be considered too.

Originally posted by twhitehead
... If a moral argument is being made, then those in the rest of the world should be considered too.

In an enlightened world. We are in this together!

I think capitalism and nationalism are both deeply flawed.

Originally posted by twhitehead
Only some prices go up. Many things are cheaper in the US than in Zambia or South Africa.

Rent?

Utility bills?

Originally posted by Eladar
Rent?

Depends on the house and the location.

Utility bills?
Electricity in Zambia is reasonably priced because they have massive hydropower. The only problem is the power is off much of the time because they haven't been maintaining - building new power plants.
Water, I don't know.
Here in SA, my electricity bill is higher than in Zambia, but water is included with the flat (rented).
I don't know how they compare with the US. But utility bills are not that significant a part of my monthly expenditure. Rent and food are the biggest components.

Originally posted by KazetNagorra
Scandinavian countries don't have a minimum wage. You don't need one with sufficiently good welfare benefits.

It makes politicians gleeful that they have something to demagogue about.

That extra few dollars an hour sure is better to talk about than actually running the country when you are campaigning.

But you are right, a minimum wage makes no sense at all. No one puts a gun to someone's head to work for a certain wage, and it is always assumed that those working must support a family on it when that is not always the case It's insane.

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Xenophobe

Originally posted by mchill
What sh76 is trying to say is "I refuse to admit this minimum wage is appallingly low, and I'll be able to get out of admitting it by using using government benefits as an escape hatch"

sh76 - You're a smart guy, your "slippery" language strongly suggests you should have been in politics! 😛

Actually, I agree with KN on this one.

If the goal is to get people to have enough money to live properly, a guaranteed basic income, or at least a robust social welfare system, is far better than a higher minimum wage.

A high minimum wage forces an employer to pay more than is economically efficient, which makes it more likely that he will hire fewer people or outsource the job (or, worse, force him to stop operating). Moreover, many people who make minimum wage don't need a living wage. They're summer job teenagers or college students living with their parents or on campus on the government's dime.

Making sure people who need a living have one is laudable (the arguments on both sides of a guaranteed minimum income are interesting, but that's for another thread). Creating an artificially high minimum wage to secure that goal is exceedingly inefficient.

Originally posted by Zahlanzi
also, weren't you among those that say those government benefits should be scrapped as well? that they enable "moochers"?

ummmmm....

That would be a "no"