50 States + DC + Puerto Rico ranked by minimum hourly wage required to afford 2-bedroom housing

[JeroenAndMichelle 28]

I'm happy my SO already owns a few houses otherwise we might have been screwed with 29 bucks an hour lol. I've seen the rental prices on Hawaii a few times now and everytime I see them I'm like o_O #######.. they're so damn high... you pay about 750 usd for a single bedroom with shared bathroom/kitchen and stuff... a three bedroom might actually set you back over 2000 a month :S

[onwa 6]

That is why we moved from Hawaii.

[one...two...tree 2,762]

This shows our federal minimum wage is outdated and way off base.

Do you suggest pegging the min wage to the cost of renting adequate housing?

What is our current minimum wage based on? I know that most of us think of minimum wage jobs as flipping burgers at McDonald's, but what about most other retail jobs? In other words, what kind of standard living did a man working as a shoes salesman made 30 years ago compared to today? There has been a redefinition of what is an acceptable wage for jobs that happen to have experience the largest growth in the market.

Edited April 15, 2008 by Jabberwocky

[Niels Bohr 72]

Always try to subsidized housing, if possible.

The data doesn't reveal the minimum to live in subsidized housing such as public housing or section 8. Actually, there's no minimum. LOL.

[Dan J 277]

This shows our federal minimum wage is outdated and way off base.

Do you suggest pegging the min wage to the cost of renting adequate housing?

What is our current minimum wage based on? I know that most of us think of minimum wage jobs as flipping burgers at McDonald's, but what about most other retail jobs? In other words, what kind of standard living did a man working as a shoes salesman made 30 years ago compared to today? There has been a redefinition of what is an acceptable wage for jobs that happen to have experience the largest growth in the market.

Minimum wage laws create an artificial floor. If changed, the cost of living will change accordingly.

[one...two...tree 2,762]

This shows our federal minimum wage is outdated and way off base.

Do you suggest pegging the min wage to the cost of renting adequate housing?

What is our current minimum wage based on? I know that most of us think of minimum wage jobs as flipping burgers at McDonald's, but what about most other retail jobs? In other words, what kind of standard living did a man working as a shoes salesman made 30 years ago compared to today? There has been a redefinition of what is an acceptable wage for jobs that happen to have experience the largest growth in the market.

Minimum wage laws create an artificial floor. If changed, the cost of living will change accordingly.

I can't figure out what happened to this country's Middle Class. What happened to blue collar jobs? How was it that a shoe salesman 30 years ago could afford a mortgage, but today he lives in his parent's basement. How did the job of a shoe salesman cease to be a viable career choice?

Edited April 15, 2008 by Jabberwocky

[Jenn! 918]

Because we woke up and realized that shoe salesmen are losers.

[Trompe le Monde 1,107]

I can tell you what happened

[Dan J 277]

This shows our federal minimum wage is outdated and way off base.

Do you suggest pegging the min wage to the cost of renting adequate housing?

What is our current minimum wage based on? I know that most of us think of minimum wage jobs as flipping burgers at McDonald's, but what about most other retail jobs? In other words, what kind of standard living did a man working as a shoes salesman made 30 years ago compared to today? There has been a redefinition of what is an acceptable wage for jobs that happen to have experience the largest growth in the market.

Minimum wage laws create an artificial floor. If changed, the cost of living will change accordingly.

I can't figure out what happened to this country's Middle Class. What happened to blue collar jobs? How was it that a shoe salesman 30 years ago could afford a mortgage, but today he lives in his parent's basement. How did the job of a shoe salesman cease to be a viable career choice?

Companies found it nessary to be more compedative in a global market.

Higher paying manufacturing jobs have been replaced by lower paying service jobs.

Company provided pension plans have been replaced by your on your own retirement plans. Without in many cases a increase in income to make up the diffrence of what pension plans provided.

Health costs have skyrocketed.

Economic focus on spending with use of credit vs saving. A person can buy more overall, if they save and buy vs using credit since credit costs money.

[Caladan 19]

I am going to be so happy when I leave this overpriced state.

[DeadPoolX 9]

This shows our federal minimum wage is outdated and way off base.

Do you suggest pegging the min wage to the cost of renting adequate housing?

What is our current minimum wage based on? I know that most of us think of minimum wage jobs as flipping burgers at McDonald's, but what about most other retail jobs? In other words, what kind of standard living did a man working as a shoes salesman made 30 years ago compared to today? There has been a redefinition of what is an acceptable wage for jobs that happen to have experience the largest growth in the market.

Minimum wage laws create an artificial floor. If changed, the cost of living will change accordingly.

I can't figure out what happened to this country's Middle Class. What happened to blue collar jobs? How was it that a shoe salesman 30 years ago could afford a mortgage, but today he lives in his parent's basement. How did the job of a shoe salesman cease to be a viable career choice?

Let's not forget that 30 years ago, the Internet wasn't around like it is today. With the mass availability of online shopping, people can sit at home and purchase practically whatever they want without ever leaving the house. This includes shoes and there are many large retailers that offer all sorts of footwear online for lower prices than what you'd find in physical locations.

So to answer your question, Steven, the "shoe salesman" hasn't disappeared at all. He's just transformed into something else entirely. Instead of being a flesh-and-blood individual working a 9-to-5 job, he's an online business owner who's primarily known through a "dot com" address, can offer service virtually anywhere, and is available 24/7.

Trust me when I say that the "shoe salesman" isn't the only casuality of the Internet becoming a greater part of our lives and it most definitely won't be the last, either. I have a feeling that many lower-end jobs once held by men and women will cease to exist in their current incarnation. They'll be reintroduced as something new, while still offering a product that the population desires, but only on a much wider scale.

[Sheriff Uling 3]

I love Cali... Expensive state with fringe benefits...

[Niels Bohr 72]

There's only two class in the US. They are the upper, and lower. Middle class is non-existent. The lower class has the benefit of living a small luxury of government subsidized housing while the upper class have to work to live well. The middle class was invented to be a cushion in the economy.

[mawilson 2,133]

There's only two class in the US. They are the upper, and lower. Middle class is non-existent.

Which one are you, consolemaster? Upper or lower?

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

I am poor, uncle sam pays for part of my mortgage in the form of a tax deduction on my mortgage interest. I guess that's my subsidized housing!

Thank you, Uncle Sam!