My week living on the minimum wage

New York Daily News ^ | February 7, 2004 | HEIDI EVANS

[tdadams]

Another contrived sob story about an adult with kids trying to make a living on $5.15 an hour. Let the shredding begin.

[.38sw]

I'll start. I worked for minimum wage when I had summer jobs between school years. It was pretty obvious that it wasn't a lot of money, so I made decisions about my future then. Like, go to college, get some education, get some job skills, and get better jobs. Don't have kids I can't afford to support. Minimum wage jobs are supposed to be entry level jobs, or so I thought.

[Thebaddog]

This should be motivation enough for any hard working American to get off your keister, get an education, climb the ladder of advancement and not get caught with some horse face single mother wench trying to climb out of the minimum wage trap by marrying you.

[Cathryn Crawford]

I won't comment on what it's like to live on minimum wage; but in regards to this specific article, it's not very well done. The experiement has too many flaws in it. The focus group is too small (two people, one family) and the enviroment isn't controlled enough.

[xrp]

Working for minimum wage in my junior year of high school gave me the incentive to finish with a 3.0GPA or higher and then go onto college, study hard (not party hard) and get my degree.

[Drango]

I demand that the minimum wage go to $35.75 immediately. And a chicken in every pot.

[Agnes Heep]

Explain to me, someone, how a job at $5.15 an hour is preferable to no job at $6.15 an hour?

[mrs tiggywinkle]

exactly.

[ctdonath2]

Half the world's population lives on less than $2/day. She tried living on 20 times that much - that ain't poor.

The story isn't that she lived on "minimum wage" and found it difficult. The real story is that she typically lives a practically aristocratic life and doesn't appreciate it.

[Ophiucus]

Waaa- waaa -waaaa.

Been there, done that. Minimum wage isn't fun and you don't have the money for the nice things in life but you can live on it.

There is no guarantee that life is easy and the government shouldn't try to guarantee it.

[Rome2000]

"Living on $5.15 an hour in New York is a brutal struggle,"

Living on $100 bucks an hour in NYC is a brutal struggle.

I wouldn't subject myself or my family to that socialist hellhole again for a million dollars.

[1066AD]

Good book on subject is "Nickle & Dimed" by Barbara Ehrenreich, she did same thing. An eye opener for me. I got it on ebay.

[MarkeyD]

And what about the extras that every child deserves?

Maybe the child deserved a parent that would strive to better themselves and not be satisfied with making minimum wage. Wages are set to a level commensurate to the ease at the worker can be replaced.

[RockyMtnMan]

Just a note, but if she is paying her baby sitter $10 an hour why wouldn't she baby sit instead of working for minimum wage.

[MarkeyD]

What's it about?

[Libertina]

I see my state, WA is at the top. Now Governor Gary Locke (D) wants to increase sales tax by 10 % to make it 10 cents paid in tax on EVERY dollar we spend. ("For the chilren", one BILLION dollars a year more for the schools. Especially since they took all the gambling money they said would be for schools and put it in the general budget.))

Living on minimum wage is not done by most people for long. It is for people starting out and students with summer jobs and people who work part time to supplement incomes. As minumum wage job wages are forced artificially higher, our kids find no work and positions are dropped by employers who make do with fewer employees.

Also, the author didn't mention that spouses contribute income to the family as well. It also ignores the idea that fear of poverty is a good incentive to do well in school and work diligently.

Next this author will tell us that we are not being fair to illegal aliens who are coming here to work and that we should pay them $20.00 an hour.

[Drango]

Minimum wage laws are racist...they force out those with the least skills (often minorities).

[grellis]

Living on $5.15 an hour in New York is a brutal struggle," added Cantor.

So move.

[DefCon]

"... in order for me to work full-time, from 9 to 5, I need a baby-sitter to pick up my child from school at 3 p.m. and watch her for three hours ..."
- - -
I wonder if she thinks she should pay the sitter the same minimum wage?

[lawdude]

When we were married in 1962 and moved to Arizona, I became painfully aware that my non-HS graduate status was the road to a minimum wage future. Even though I had some technical background and could be employed as a TV repair tech, I didn't think that was sufficient.

We held off having kids, and I got HS diploma and my BS-Physics degree. That led to a 25 year career in the semiconductor business, during which time I did pretty well financially.

In other words, NO MINIMUM WAGE JOB.

Since, I went on to get a post-grad degree and have just now retired at age 62!

We won't live in luxury (what ever that is) but we will enjoy retirement!

Min. wage jobs are meant to be entry level for teenagers to fund pocket change while in school and prepare for advanced education or training. No idiot could believe they can sustain a career, family and future in min. wage positions.