The Living Wage Calculator

I am not a bean counter. That means I dislike doing research that requires a lot of time sorting through endless amounts of data, ultimately to discover that I cannot afford to do much of anything beyond sitting at my computer wondering when time passed me by. I’m more of the ‘big picture’ guy who likes to think in terms of humanity and why I cannot help them out of their mess.

For instance, government bureaucrats like to say that the poverty level for a family of four is somewhere around $25,000. But anyone who can count and walk at the same time knows that the poverty level is much higher. In the past I’ve guessed it to be about $50,000. But even that income is not adequate to live independently in today’s society. It probably takes about $70,000 to be able to live without needing aid from an outside source.

Enter the Living Wage Calculator developed by Dr. Amy Glasmeier of MIT’s Dept. of Urban Studies and Planning. She has determined that it takes $60,000 to get by in West Virginia, and $89,000 in New York, without assistance. All other states fall somewhere between those two income levels. The incomes are for that typical family of four. But those numbers do not allow for them to take a vacation, or to dine out at a restaurant, or to save and invest for their future. They provide only for bare bones living.

I looked up specifics for myself. Her data show that I need $XX,XXX in my county in Florida to hit the bare minimum Living Wage income level. I make it by the skin of my teeth, but only by counting my investment income which is about as reliable as my pleasant disposition. So now you know. I am a borderline indigent, poor as dirt, even though the government believes otherwise. And that is why they tax me until I scream. And then they take another $2,000 just because they can.

To discover what it really takes to be poor in America, go here: Click here