Minimum Wage Workers Can’t Afford Rent Anywhere In The Country

[eridani]

http://www.nationofchange.org/news/2016/05/27/minimum-wage-workers-cant-afford-rent-anywhere-country/

People who make the federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour can’t find an affordable place to live anywhere in the country, according to a new report from the National Low Income Housing Coalition.

But perhaps even more surprising is that even if the minimum wage were raised to $15 an hour — the level low-wage workers have been demanding in a constant flow of strikes and protests and the highest level supported by Democratic lawmakers — they would still be out of luck.

The report found that to afford a one-bedroom apartment at the average fair market rate without shelling out more than 30 percent of his income, someone has to earn at least $16.35 an hour. The necessary pay goes up to $20.30 an hour to afford a two-bedroom unit.

Some states have more affordable markets. But none of them are cheap enough for a minimum wage earner. In order to afford a two-bedroom apartment while earning $7.25 an hour, someone would have to have nearly three full-time jobs, putting in 112 hours a week every single week of the year. “If this worker slept for eight hours per night,” the report notes, “he or she would have no remaining time during the week for anything other than working and sleeping.”

[AgingAmerican]

1. When I was 17 I made minimum wage

I could afford my own apartment AND a car on 3.10 per hour.

[lancer78]

5. And that $3.10

should be $31.00 today.

[1939]

32. Not exactly correct

Inflation hasn't been a factor of ten since 1980.

The highest minimum wage in terms of constant dollars was 1978 when it was $2.65.

[KT2000]

2. here the waiting lists have been closed

for low income housing.
Management companies require rent be no more than 1/3 of monthly income.

Just saw an add for a different kind of low income house that said "No fee required for being placed on waiting list." vultures.

[Warpy]

3. It's been like that for DECADES

and the raise from $5.15 to $7.25 did nothing because by the time the raise kicked in, inflation had eaten it all up.

Somebody needs to address a joint session of Congress and explain to them in words of only one or two syllables what inflation is and what it has done to the working people in this country, the people they need to sucker for voters no matter how much loot the lobbyists put into their campaign funds.

[tblue37]

4. They already know. They just don't care. nt

[silvershadow]

9. ^This. nt

[LiberalArkie]

52. Yep, They know. They have theirs and that is all that matters to them.

[Mr.Bill]

65. "I'm lucky to have a job"

Is music to their ears. I hear this statement all to often in recent years.

[inanna]

15. +1

[lakeguy]

27. they already know...

their owners pay them to keep it that way.

[inanna]

6. I'm kind of in this position myself...

And I make more than minimum wage.

Looking for a new apartment has been very eye-opening.

One bedrooms here start at $700.00/mo. (most don't include utilities). That's nearly half my income.

Thanks for posting this.

This is a global problem. The rent really is too damn high. I could not imagine trying to survive in London or NYC.

Something needs to change - and quick.

[Manifestor_of_Light]

11. One reason the rent is too damn high is high property taxes.

In "Low tax states" they have high property taxes, high sales taxes, high license fees for everything, and the appraisals rise every year. I live in an alleged "low tax state" because we are one of the few with no state income tax.

They will still gouge you one way or another. And the landlord has to make a little profit, and pay a commission to the property manager for dealing with repairs and other hassles. For some people it's the only retirement income they have.

[IkeRepublican]

12. You're absolutely right

I've been told numerous times by Ohio residents about how much Ohio sucks, then they run over to IN or KY for "lower taxes" and when it comes property-tax and annual-plates time, it is Bend Over City. Ends up being cheaper to live in OH.

That's after they buy all the necessities to live in those over-the-state-line to keep up with the neighbors - pick up trucks, cop haircuts, white-only Christmas lights and that sort of thing.

We all know how it is when you need a pick up truck to haul your laptop back and forth from work at 9MPG. Amurricuh! (staring at the ground)

[Hortensis]

37. White Christmas lights are de rigeur with a

pickup set? Are these polished, suburban pickups? I'm having trouble "seeing" the culture. Very conservative and conforming?

(Btw, I have an old pickup, we have two, both well used.)

[JonathanRackham]

16. Taxes are related to property value as well.

If property values rise so will taxes. Sometimes property values are artifically manipulated. Tax rates could be constant but a tax assessor could be too agressive in a neighborhood.

[lakeguy]

28. that's not entirely true

the price stays where it is because someone can afford to pay that, either through cash or loans. if you lower the tax, the price will go up to reach the same monthly payment. the main problem is the debt based economy and low interest rates that take away the opportunity for regular to people to actually own anything. it also prevents them from doing things like striking, because they have to make a payment or pay rent.

[ErikJ]

67. Property taxes should be abolished.

You can never truly own a house with property taxes. They are regressive too. They can take a persons house if he doesnt have the money to pay the property tax.
In the Great Depression millions of people lost their homes that way.

[mwooldri]

68. Then we need reform of local government financing.

At the county and city level it is property and sales taxes which pay for local services. Higher income tax with block grants to local government is one possible solution. Much to debate.

[hobbit709]

31. Around here a cheap apartment in a not so good neighborhood is $1000/mo.

It's pretty much gotten to $1000/mo per bedroom or more for anything without rats or a leaking roof.

[dgauss]

7. I wish all democrats would be more concerned about this math than delegate count math.

[Hortensis]

38. ONLY the Dems on political forums are concerned about

delegate math. Most would nod and try to change the topic if anyone chose to talk about it, which mostly very few do. I certainly have never bothered anyone with it.

But, yes. And frankly, I believe most are. They are Democrats, after all. The issue is whether they'll get off their butts to vote. That's our bad.

[ReRe]

8. K&R

$15 is too damn low, even. At a minimum, it should be at least $22/hr. Rome wasn't built in a day, I suppose, so $15 is as good a place to start as any. In 10 yrs, raise it to $30.00/hr. And then, bring incremental raises back as each year passes, as the cost of living goes up.

Thanks eridani for a news item we won't be seeing on M$M.

[1939]

50. Back in 1962

The army had a raise in the "Basic Allowance for Quarters" (money paid in govt quarters weren't available). Everyone's BAQ went up about $20 a month. As soon as it was announced, the landlords in the Aberdeen, MD immediately raised their rents by $20 a month.

I would imagine if minumum wage went up, so would what people were charging for stuff.

[ReRe]

62. Hey, sky's the limit!

They jack up the cost of living? The government jacks up the income! Two can play this game! We'll see who blinks first. Livin on the edge.

Always remember: Government works for the people.

[StarzGuy]

70. Yes, I'd like a decent raise in my social security disability payments too.

No minuscule raise this year, nope, zero. Yet the cost of living goes up. At least my 2 bedroom apartments rent is not going up. But at $650 per month and I pay for all the utilities it's about the best I could afford. Yep, it's not in a very good neighborhood either. The small town I live in is also a college and recreation town as well. Rich folks from Phoenix come up here to their "vacation homes" and aren't concerned about the inflated prices they pay for this luxury.

I lived in Phoenix and couldn't stand it there. Way too many people now and it gets so hot in the summer, fall and spring. Winters, which lasts about 2 weeks in early January, is the only time when the temperatures are reasonable.

I don't qualify for subsidized housing because of the pension I also earned. I get clobbered when it comes to yearly fees such as auto tabs which are based on the value of the vehicle. The state is controlled by Republicans and they are following the Kansas "miracle" by cutting all taxes for businesses,minimal income tax cuts for individuals then they turn around and nickle and dime you to death.

I don't quite hit the 30% for rent mentioned above but I can't make it through the month with out making sacrifices; pay for medication I require or buy food, pay utilities or pay for clothes, etc. I also pay for an auto purchase each and every month. I am really squeezed financially. If not for the saving grace of my girlfriend I might just be out living under an overpass.

[silvershadow]

10. From the things that will never happen files:

(but we can wish, right?) Congress first needs to get real about minimum wage. Once they do get real, they need to lock it into law as a floor that always rises with costs, without excluding the things they currently exclude from their calculations: Food, Rent, and Utilities. (I think those are the ones they exclude when determining inflation, how convenient)

[w0nderer]

13. xposted to 'working poor'

http://www.democraticunderground.com/12841047

you may want to hit 'poverty' group as well for max visibility

[inanna]

14. From the comments section

of the link you posted:

amiensfrance • 16 hours ago

This rent unaffordability is another reason why I follow closely what the French do for their citizens when problems are similar to those of the U.S. . The French aren't fools and they understand completely that their economy has sunk to an all time low and unemployment is rampant. P,eople can't find work yet housing, which is a commodity, must be paid for, especially when landlords must pay taxes and maintenance themselves for their property.

So, instead of housing people in hotels or letting them live in cars or wooded areas in tent/ container cities (as the migrants do when using France as a stop off point for Great Britain) the French give/ award living subsidies called APL (Allocation Personell de Logement) meaning [personal lodging allottments] to every family or person in need of shelter with insufficient earnings. This means that if someone is working an underpaid job whose total monthly income is less than the rent they pay or can't live on what's left, they are entitled to a sum of money that brings their living minimum incomes above that of their rent.

Example: A family of 4 now only has one bread winner and it's the wife. The husband has been unemployed for 3 years and has an 88% chance of never finding anything (regardless if it's full time or part time work). The rent is $1000 per month for 2 bedrooms a kitchen, dining room, living room and bath. The wife only earns $900 per month. The cost of maintaining the family unit's overhead & needs is $1200 per month (without the rent).

At the beginning of the month, the government pays the landlord directly his $1000 and cuts a Subsidy check to the family for $1300. to use as needed to survivie. Some may call this a welfare mentality but without this system the country would be like China where hundresd of thousands of people are living in the streets in abject poverty while 90 story high rise apartments lay dormant and empty with no one benefitting from them on either the private or governmental level.

* The money for all this comes from other areas. For example: Instead of cutting taxes to billionaires and Corporations, the French tax them on an equitable rate (their fair share) which doesn't "crush them" or even cause them to lose profits as some Americans would have you believe.

There are plenty of cases of corporations who left the country in disgust with this taxation system years ago for Eastern European, Asian or North African nations in hopes of tax avoidance. It backfired and they're now returning to France once again because the French offer benefits and incentives that these other nations just don't provide that more than make up for their higher tax burdens.

[AZ Progressive]

17. I don't mean to be harsh

But as someone who is relatively young and learned not to trust others for my future, I never have and never should be putting my trust on the government to help me. Given how bad the government treats people, why should I? People nowadays should not be putting their future at the mercy of others. I wish things were better than this but they are not. I've grown into a world where one must fight for survival.

[inanna]

18. I think we've all "grown into a world where one must fight for survival."

Most of us are getting fucking sick and tired of it.

[jwirr]

53. You are going to learn that there are many ways that we

trust in government. Schools, buses, roads, libraries, mail delivery, and a lot of other things that we take for granted. And one of the things that you are absolutely correct about is "people should not be putting their future at the mercy of others."

To me that is what we are doing when we fight the establishment in the Democratic Party and work for Bernie. Back in the day we all started listening to the rw churches and other promoters and they told us that "government is the problem" (RR) Then they proceeded to wreck it so that it no longer worked. They have continued this meme since 1980.

I am 74 years old and took care of my severely disabled child for 45 years. Because I had nothing but part time work so that I could be home to take care of her I am one of the poor today. I have been homeless for at least 10 years - living in one family bedroom after another. When I needed subsidized housing we now have waiting list of more than 18 months.

I agree about fighting for survival and I have done that but it is not a solution that most would be willing to accept. My daughter has an old cabin on her property. We are going to remodel it so I can live in it. A two room cabin is going to free me. But my sister tells me that in NY where she lives they would never allow that.

What you are talking about (not using government help) worked when 98% of the population lived in a rural area. Once that figure flipped with 98% living in cities that was no longer possible. Thus FDR created Social Security and other programs to handle the problems of a city. It was just the result of a group instead of an individual fighting for their future. Unions and workers led to way toward a better life. And as I said it worked until 1980. No one since then has been working toward changing anything. Now homelessness is the norm.

[StarzGuy]

71. That is a really said commentary on the status of Americans and the rest of the world.

BTW, I earned my social security and pension, so for me the government does play a role in my financials.

[hill2016]

19. what's wrong

with having room mates?

Most people do so until they are married.

[inanna]

20. You are assuming everyone who makes minimum wage

is single?

[hill2016]

21. if they are married

there's two people who can work and pay the bills

[inanna]

22. I was referring to single parents. n/t

[hill2016]

23. child support

[inanna]

24. Deadbeat dads.

[hill2016]

25. min wage

shouldn't cater to rare cases. for these kind of cases there are other programs like eic, snap, etc.

[inanna]

26. Rare?

In these times it is not "rare" for people to fail to pay child support. It isn't "rare" in good times.

That isn't the only concern of a single parent though.

Child care expenses, health care, etc. How can these be paid on top of unaffordable rents, student loans, etc.?

[Chemisse]

34. Child support comes straight out of the dad's paycheck nowadays.

The only way to be a deadbeat is to not work at all. And that is rare.

[inanna]

48. It sure isn't rare in Canada

'Deadbeats' across Canada owe more than $3.7B in support

They're commonly called "deadbeats" — people who refuse to support their families after courts order them to pay — and CBC News has learned they owe more than $3.7 billion across the country for support orders.

Nearly two-thirds of all support orders in Canada are in arrears.

In Ontario, that number jumps to 80 per cent, although the provincial government says it has replaced an outdated computer system, and officials have collected more than $6.9 billion in support payments since 2003.

Experts and recipients say there aren't enough staff to do an adequate job of monitoring the nearly half a million open files across the country.

Link: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/deadbeats-across-canada-owe-more-than-3-7b-in-support-1.2782955

[lakeguy]

29. it also shouldn't cater to businesses that squeeze the blood out of workers

to maximize profit. if one person can't support themselves on the min wage, it's too low. you shouldn't be forced to shack up with strangers just so you can pay the rent.

[hobbit709]

36. Eic? you're joking. A credit on April 15 does nothing to help you live the rest of the year.

Didn't our wonderful congresscritters cut the funding for SNAP again?

[lancer78]

41. Another Ivory

tower democrat who has no clue what real life is like for the poor. No wonder your candidate is barely scraping by.

[alarimer]

61. This is what Thomas Frank is talking about when he criticizes (some) liberals.

So many (and they tend to be Hillary supporters) still believe the myth that if you just work hard enough, you will succeed, that is, if you truly want it. Well, that is bullshit. It isn't true now, if it ever was. And if you have one or two strikes against you in the form of a criminal conviction or poor education or whatever, you are even worse off.

Liberals like that are just like Republicans in blaming the poor for their own failures. And yes, people do make poor decisions. But being poor is expensive. They pay more for things that we take for granted.

Barbara Ehrenreich's Nickeled and Dimed covers this territory very well.

[cyberswede]

43. Two minimum wage jobs aren't enough, either.

From the OP above:

In order to afford a two-bedroom apartment while earning $7.25 an hour, someone would have to have nearly three full-time jobs, putting in 112 hours a week every single week of the year.

The unwillingness in this country to pay workers a living wage is appalling.

[Igel]

46. "Roommate" was one shoe. Here's the other.

Around half of the apartments (give or take) cost less than the average.

You don't need to rent an average-priced apartment. You can rent a below-average-priced apartment. I did. With a roommate.

This is saying that standard, the average person making minimum wage (which makes them far from average), will need an average-priced two-bedroom apartment. Most don't. Yes, some do. But most don't.


Most minimum-wage earners don't need a two-bedroom apartment. When my income was below minimum wage I had a one-room apartment with a kitchen that held a fridge, sink, stove and me (if I opened the oven door, I couldn't be in the kitchen). It also had a bathroom. I could afford an apartment by myself. $400/month in West Los Angeles, including water/gas/electricity.

Friends looked at me like I was crazy. They had nicer apartments with the same level of income. They ate better. They went out to pubs or restaurants from time to time. Some had cars. But I left school with $13k in loans, all from my first year when I paid out of state tuition and lived in the dorm. They left school with far, far higher loan debt, mostly because they paid $800/month more than I did for rent for 5 years, ate better, had cars, and spent money on entertainment. I biked everywhere, took the bus when it rained, but there were times when I had to bike in the rain because I couldn't manage the $0.50 for the bus. (And, in that, I still managed to maintain my emergency reserve funds.)

In other words, you don't need average. To quote Dostoevsky, "Poverty isn't a sin." It just is.

Less than 1% of workers in 2014 made exactly the minimum wage (some ag workers make less, restaurant employees are hard to quantify). A lot of low-income workers made a bit more, and even my high-school students make more than minimum wage. They turn up their noses at straight minimum. Within 25 cents of $9/hr is common, some make $10 or even $11.

[hobbit709]

33. Aren't you just a little ray of sunshine? Come down to Austin and try to live on under $10/hr.

There are people here trying to work for $9/hr and only get to work 25-30 hrs a week because the employers don't want to pay a living wage income.
There are already 4 or more people sharing a 2-3 bedroom place just so they can barely keep a roof over their head.
they want $1200/mo for a 2 BR trailer in a gang neighborhood.

[Odin2005]

55. You sound like a Republican.

Free Republic is over there.

[hill2016]

57. saying people on minimum wage

should have room mates is a Republican?

You should come to NY or SF where MOST people have room mates.

[Odin2005]

63. Grown adults should not HAVE to have roommates.

That is my fucking point. You are a conservative who meekly accepts all the BS of the world as "just the way things are".

[hill2016]

64. given that most kids don't live alone

are you saying that nobody should have roommates?

[Odin2005]

73. Are you calling grown adults "kids"?

[fizzgig]

56. a room in my city is at least 600 bucks a month with utilities

unless you're living with four or five other people, then you run the risk of being evicted for violating city occupancy laws.

[romanic]

30. Rent and the COL keeps going up without meeting the needs of (any) wages.

Here in SE MI, rent is way up compared to ten years. They say it's because of "property values" and the recovery of the Great Recession, but I know that's just a load of bullshit used to justify the rise of rent across the county. Hell even in my former hometown which has a median household income of $28,825, the cheapest rent I could find for a listed apartment (not counting senior living) was $580 a month for a one bedroom. That particular apartment complex was only $450 a month back in 2009! It's getting out of control here and everywhere.

[discntnt_irny_srcsm]

35. Minimum wage jobs are like weight watchers dinners...

...you can eat okay if you have 3 or 4.

[Lee-Lee]

39. Only issue I see here is the use of "average fair market rent"

If you are making the minimum that people get paid, you can't expect to live in a place renting at the "average" rate. You are going to live in the lower end. If your income rises to the average for an area then you should expect to live in what rents at the "average" market rate.

Average rent in this area is around $1100 for a 1 br apartment, but that is skewed by a lot of high end apartments on the market. But when you look you can find an adequate 1br as low as $600 and you can rent a 2br trailer for $700-800 and have a roommate.

[meaculpa2011]

40. Instead of a higher minimum wage...

we need a Universal Basic Income!

Dismantle the infrastructure needed to determine eligibility for means-tested benefits, lift the the cap on SS taxes and apply it to all income, not just salaries.

Poor people need money, not more visits with social workers.

[Lee-Lee]

42. The more I see this idea, the more I like it.

I basic minimum plus a tiered level where for the first X dollars you make at a job it is matched (maybe not 1:1 but some ration) until the poverty level is met, so for example a guaranteed income of $8000 and then past that for every $2 earned a person gets $1 so that a person would only have to earn around $3000 a year to have a net icome of $12,500 and be just at the poverty line. That is just $250 a month a person would need to earn to meet the poverty line, meaning any full time worker even at minim wage can climb out of poverty.

It would also make getting higher education much, much more within reach for so many- a weekend part time job would provide enough to pay tuition and live on without interfering with studies.

[meaculpa2011]

44. No! No! No! ...

A Universal Basic Income for EVERYONE!

Basically, Social Security for all. It only works if the social-welfare system that determines eligibility (and destroys lives) is dismantled.

No tiers. No means testing. No degrading social welfare maze where poor people have to grovel for a few crumbs.

A Universal Basic Income is a human right. People should not have to prove that they deserve a living income.

[Lee-Lee]

45. It would be for everyone

It would guarantee to a specific level, then match income past that to incentivize some level of workforce participation to get people motivated to work and be productive so that the economy can sustain what is needed.

It wouldn't cut off or drop if you made any amount of money, but it would never be taken away.

I would, however, maintain a higher level for people unable to work, but set that standard higher than what it set now for disability.

As I study the proposals for this more and more I see the need for that matching portion and a minimum set below the poverty level to encourage and keep enough people active in the economy to keep the economy healthy enough to support it. That creates a system where anyone can exceed the poverty level with a very little amount of work, and anyone who works full time can get ahead and have the American Dream, but it doesn't take people out of the work force.

[meaculpa2011]

47. No. Once you create tiers, motivations...

Last edited Mon May 30, 2016, 11:38 AM - Edit history (1)

and incentives the eligibility bureaucracy will soon make a shambles of any reform.

The simple reality is that there is not enough work for everyone and there will never again be enough work for everyone.

The UBI should be more than poverty level. It should be enough to provide a decent life whether you work or not.

The RW meme about incentives to work is outdated and dangerous.

BTW: Those on the Left also remain deluded about work incentives.

Many people find no pleasure or satisfaction in work.

[inanna]

49. It's encouraging how much the topic of UBI

is in the news these days?

Did you ever think it would be?

I couldn't have dreamed it just a few short years ago.

[jwirr]

54. Amen.

[Doctor_J]

59. And Medicare for all. Healthcare without the profiteers

Problem would shrink by 75%

[Doctor_J]

58. This is why we need incremental steps!!!!!!!!111!!1. Just a little tweaking!

Hillary and Ryan can work together to fix this! Honest!

[felix_numinous]

60. Health Education and Welfare

need to be kept socialized, without any administration being able to touch, a permanent, FDR 2nd Bill of Rights. It needs to be the crux of the progressive movement, IMHO.

I know too many people who are in pain, who used to live in houses now in trailers or on the street now. More and more people on the street, and they don't have a voice right now.

[JEB]

66. Sleep outside or jungle up. Peons ain't gonna get shit

from the corporate controlled government.

[mwooldri]

69. How about social housing?

I guess in some places "the projects" are quite dire, but if done well social housing can help. Low rent government owned housing. Non government "housing associations" whose mission is to provide affordable housing could get funding. Section 8 could get more funding. It's not the end solution but part of the puzzle that can lead people to have a comfortable life above the poverty line.