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

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

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote]What 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.[/quote]

Well perhaps people who would like to have enough money leftover to, you know, eat, pay for bus fare, and buy medicine when they or their kids get sick, and keep the heat on.  Minimum wage in Texas is 7.25 an hour, so excluding FICA, two working parents working 40 hours a week would make 27K.  Even in the cheapest part of Texas, it is not easy to live a decent lifestyle as a single person, not to mention someone with kids.[/quote]

One person making minimum wage at $7.25/hour working 40 hours a week for 52 weeks of the year would make $15,080 [b]before[/b] taxes. Virginia follows the federal minimum wage. Please show me where in Northern Virginia you can find a 1 bedroom apartment or even a studio/efficiency for $418 per month or less, which would be 1/3 of their monthly income. Also keep in mind those calculations are still before taxes.[/quote]

The point is that a single, minimum wage worker isn't renting out a 1 bedroom apartment or studio. They have roommates, or rent a room out of a group house, or even a basement unit from a family. That you can find for about $500, which is above the 1/3 recommendation but if you actually have ever been poor or are close to poor people, or just read up on the topic, you know that the 1/3 guideline isn't how poor people really live so you shouldn't be horrified to discover that poor people pay more than $400/month on rent, assuming they actually pay the full cost of their rent.

Now, if you're talking about a dual income household, then you have more room to work with, say $800-1000/month for rent and you definitely can get a studio in that range in NoVA. Not at great, top rated complexes, but ones that are good enough for those of us who come to DC initially poor. For all of you who can't fathom living under such conditions, did you build your wealth then move to DC? Everyone I know who came here, started out as a low-wage worker, rented a room out of a group house - some of us had unpaid internships to get experience and worked minimum wage shifts at night and on weekends with temp agencies or in retail to pay rent on our tiny room. Is that inhumane? Is that horrifying? I can't tell if you all are such die hard liberals that you can't imagine some one having to work extra hours and live within their means without some kind of subsidy or if you're just snobs and disgusted by the prospect of doing so. Maybe you're both.[/quote]

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