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Originally Posted by irateplatypus
man... it's so nice talking about something other than iraq or bush-bashing.
if we're talking about people needing to make a living wage while working 40 hours a week (as that seems to be the starting point on this thread), then consider this:
we'll start with a very conservative estimate... say just $8 an hour for unskilled labor. the cashier's at walmart start off close to that. for a couple...
$8 an hour, multiplied by 40 hours a week. 52 weeks in a year times 40 hours a week... double that figure to find total income for a married couple.
the figure comes to $33,280 for two unskilled fulltime incomes. i'm not saying i would want live on that, especially with a wife and maybe a child. however, that isn't bad is it? before anyone thinks i'm on a high-horse... i used to be poor. dirt poor. i'm a bit embarrassed to say my family even enrolled in welfare for a couple months when i was very young. still, for the basics of life... that isn't an unjustifiably low figure, is it? i know that here in Oklahoma $33,000 will take you a lot farther than most places... do unskilled labor jobs pay more in areas with a higher cost of living? i should know that.
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You have NO idea what I would do for $30,000+ a year. I support my family on $18,720/yr. Heather works in home some, and can net about $3500/yr. I own a home, have a credit card or two to deal with, although, my car is paid for now. I can't afford to go back to school, but I need to. It's a catch-22. If I go back to school, then either my family time (night classes) is gone, or my work time (day classes) is gone. I can't win, so I deal with selling car parts. Haven't had a raise in over two years, yet the cost of living has gone WAY up. It's time for more money, really.