What exactly is a "Living wage"?

[andrew_j]

I do not consider myself one of the brighter lights on the string but I went to continuing ed classes to improve my worth to my employer and self instead of watching Tv, drinking beer and smoking joints.

That is great. Now that kind of thing is done via eLearning and given anyone can access it subsidized internet and computers the barriers have been lifted

 

[John105]

Apparently Taylor Swift understand the concept. I’ve joked about her before, but one has to respect what she did.

https://www.cnn.com/2023/08/02/busi...000-life-changing-bonus-truck-crew/index.html

 

[dlundblad]

I see your point, but Internet access would likely be a great investment. Education, e-commerce, BITOG...
With the advent of AI, medical treatment access could open up and cost go down.

People seem to look at the cost, which is certainly important. I am a long term investor. Unless we greatly improve education, we are giving away the future to our enemies.

I like your thinking, but I can’t see the price in health care ever going down. Saying it will is great for pushing taxpayer funded internet though.

 

[dlundblad]

But you are and that is not changing as it is defined as infrastructure now.

Does it irk you my mother law gets it free who lives under poverty line prettty much her whole life? Initially she qualified for $10/month service on Xfinity but able to apply for that to be covered.

Is your mother in law disabled? If so, I have no issue with her getting assistance.

 

[John105]

I like your thinking, but I can’t see the price in health care ever going down. Saying it will is great for pushing taxpayer funded internet though.

One of the myths imho with health care is that employers pay less %-wise and sell it to employees that costs went up. My employer who contributes a not that great amount held pricing for around 3 years in a row, I want to say 2019-2022. To see "1995" like health care in 2023, just find a friend who is a municipal or state worker. $5, $10, $15, $20 PPO copay with $0 deductible. Hip replacement, $100. Knee surgery, $100. An ultrasound (2) and x-ray that cost me $1200 in Dec? $40.

So when you don't see it ever going down, it's important to put the onus on employers, not the health care providers. With my wife joining the school teacher's union and working for the township, our healthcare pricing and coverage is like pre 2010. Again, $0 deductible and no coinsurance. Just a copay for a PPO.

(think about it, circa 2012 we started to hear about HSA, HRA, employers surcharging employees who covered spouses, saying odd/even year of birth determines kids, etc. The HSA takes the cake--people join it due to the pricing structure, and actually then sell it to other employees. The key is being healthy--sell it to someone who actually needs recurring treatment, and disaster)

 

[alarmguy]

"... Comparing the middle class of decades ago to today's middle class doesn't work, because today's middle class has a generally higher standard of what they are after for material ownership and therefore need to make more to accomplish what they see as "making end's meat". Are things more expensive in general? Yes. Do people in general feel more entitled to certain things than in generations past? Yes. Is a single income family still possible? Yes...it's called choices (sacrifices at times). Does upbringing and what one was taught or not taught in regards to work ethic and finances play a role? Absolutely."

Wow did you state this so perfectly and accurately, this should be on every college text book and then some or someplace that people who think life is unfair can read it.
The only thing you would need to correct is the typo "meat" should be "meet"

It's ok though *LOL* I am king of typos in here.

 

[John105]

Wow did you state this so perfectly and accurately, this should be on every college text book and then some or someplace that people who think life is unfair can read it.
The only thing you would need to correct is the typo "meat" should be "meet"

It's ok though *LOL* I am king of typos in here.

Me too with typos as it’s usually from an iPhone. We still seem to use the term “six figures” but that’s a term like millionaire. It may have stood for middle class in 1990 but not today. The divide keeps widening.

I saw online that many people feel a $200k salary is the start of being middle class. That’s not all that many in a typical office.

Just food for thought. If a kid’s sport is $15k/year, who can afford that? Someone who’s solidly middle class imho. Seems that people who can like to place stickers on their cars indicating membership in such

 

[alarmguy]

Me too with typos as it’s usually from an iPhone. We still seem to use the term “six figures” but that’s a term like millionaire. It may have stood for middle class in 1990 but not today. The divide keeps widening.

I saw online that many people feel a $200k salary is the start of being middle class. That’s not all that many in a typical office.

Just food for thought. If a kid’s sport is $15k/year, who can afford that? Someone who’s solidly middle class imho. Seems that people who can like to place stickers on their cars indicating membership in such

Oh... I know about the iPhone, drives me nuts sometimes. Also when you use Siri, forget it, she gets so much of what I say wrong.
Yeah, Kids sports too/ just everything in life. If people will open their wallets, someone will be there to take it.
Im firmly in the camp that this is going to "adjust" some day. ... we are living in a fantasy world on borrowed money. I mean just look up the federal deficit, just keep borrowing within 10 years .. the country will face the reality of unsustainable borrowing.

 

[PimTac]

A living wage is really a very fluid and wide perspective. Currently, the buying power of the $ is going down. Where you live is an important point.

The recent news is telling us that people are borrowing more ( higher credit card balances) in order to maintain their lifestyle. Many people should be rethinking their lifestyle but I’m not sure that’s happening.

 

[PimTac]

Apparently Taylor Swift understand the concept. I’ve joked about her before, but one has to respect what she did.

https://www.cnn.com/2023/08/02/busi...000-life-changing-bonus-truck-crew/index.html

She is getting a lot of publicity for doing that. Good for those handful of truckers.

The ones that perform similar actions without any publicity are the model to look for.

 

[John105]

A living wage is really a very fluid and wide perspective. Currently, the buying power of the $ is going down. Where you live is an important point.

The recent news is telling us that people are borrowing more ( higher credit card balances) in order to maintain their lifestyle. Many people should be rethinking their lifestyle but I’m not sure that’s happening.

I can’t help but feel that doing everything right, is boring. Like eating bland food.

Because I seem to have followed many of these rules, and I can say from my experience it’s boring with a capital B.

The only thing I can see is I can pass something on to heirs and charity? Wow that’s exciting

 

[PimTac]

I can’t help but feel that doing everything right, is boring. Like eating bland food.

Because I seem to have followed many of these rules, and I can say from my experience it’s boring with a capital B.

The only thing I can see is I can pass something on to heirs and charity? Wow that’s exciting

Boring is a perception. Reality is the hard fact. If someone cannot afford their $200 a month cable bill because they got to have the latest sports news or whatever then they are not facing reality.

 

[Jim K]

With todays prices I would say $1000 per hour would be good.

 

[tbm5690]

I saw online that many people feel a $200k salary is the start of being middle class. That’s not all that many in a typical office.

I sure hope this is only the case in CA, larger metro areas, etc. because otherwise that is the furthest thing from the truth. I suspect these same people think a 750k house and 100k in the garage is also the start of middle class then.

 

[SC Maintenance]

Im firmly in the camp that this is going to "adjust" some day. ... we are living in a fantasy world on borrowed money. I mean just look up the federal deficit, just keep borrowing within 10 years .. the country will face the reality of unsustainable borrowing.

You would love Peter Zeihan's latest book. He basically lays out how we have been living in fantasy land for the last 50 years - cheap global labor, endless debt, low interest rates, lots and lots of cheap and available labor globally - boomer generation was global. The next generation is smaller, the US is much less interested in patrolling the global oceans so China can ship their crap everywhere without concern, etc.