Reply to Making $500k and not feeling wealthy in NW

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]

W[b]hat single-income minimum wage worker is renting a 2 bedroom and expecting it to cost 1/3 of their income? The only group this picture speaks to is single parents with at least two kids who earn minimum wage and don't have other financial support. Otherwise, if you're renting a 2 bedroom apt, then you probably have at least two income earners. Kind of misleading to plop a picture of the entire US in the middle of the page and then only speak to a situation that makes sense for this very specific group. Most people on minimum wage are not renting a 2 bedroom as a solo breadwinner and they're certainly not expecting it to cost them 1/3 of their income.[/b] [/quote]

And you know this how?[/quote]

Because I lived off minimum wage in New York. You don't rent out a two bedroom apartment when you're working minimum wage. No one I knew at my income level was doing that - people with kids who qualified for subsidized housing definitely applied for the biggest apt they could, along with other forms of assistance, but those of us single min wage people were renting small rooms out of larger apartments in not so posh neighborhoods and rent was definitely more than 1/3 of my monthly budget. At the time, I never got the memo that it was somehow inhumane that I had to have roommates or eat oatmeal and beans for most meals. When people try to sell it as inhumane now, I think people have forgotten what real hardship is.

So yeah, if you're renting your own apartment - and it's larger than a 1 bedroom - and you're a minimum wage worker, then you're either doing that because you're part of a dual-income household (ie - married or long term relationship so HHI is 2xminimum wage) or you're a single parent qualifying for housing assistance. Otherwise, you make do with what you have and rent something smaller. [/quote]

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