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I agree it's more complex than what appears on the surface. The only reason I made it into a political issue is because, based on lots of past experience, someone else inevitably will. I'll get called out as a right wing nut job or some other epithet if I don't point out that liberal types are now at least somewhat in agreement with many of the things I and other more conservative leaning folks have been saying for many years--and sometimes decades.
People love to mention that Texas has high property tax rates, but quite frankly, I think it's overblown. California home prices are so high that a low property tax rate still means a very high dollar amount of taxes paid. And as other posters who live here can attest, voters in many local jurisdictions pass additional special taxes for school bonds, libraries, park districts, etc. So the property taxes here are almost always higher than advertised.
As far as Austin goes, it's one metro area in a huge state. When you look at places like California, even the economically depressed areas have pretty expensive real estate relative to local incomes. So I think if you compare like with like i.e. an economically depressed area in CA vs. a similarly economically depressed one in TX, you'll find CA is still much more expensive. Or for that matter, compare the cost of living in Austin, Texas' tech capital, with the cost of living in Silicon Valley. There's no comparison.
I completely agree with this from your article: "The bill sponsored by Mr. Wiener, one of 130 housing measures that have been introduced this year, would restrict one of the biggest development tools that communities wield: the ability to use zoning, environmental and procedural laws to thwart projects they deem out of character with their neighborhood." That nonsense has to stop, and some building codes could be relaxed to allow builders to build cheaper and higher density housing. San Jose relaxed on street parking requirements a few years ago so that homeowners could build in-law units and rent them out. That should be encouraged statewide. In Sac County you can't build an in-law unit unless your lot is 1 sq ft larger than 1/4 acre which is just stupid. Ours is exactly 1/4 acre, if we could buy a square foot we would definitely build a small rental unit in our back yard, we have RV access on the side of our house and plenty of room but no..some numb nuts decided that it has to be 1/4 acre plus 1 sq ft.
That's what I'm saying and I'm glad we agree.
At risk of further politicizing the issue, I do think liberal areas tend to have more of these ridiculous regulations---and then the people who live there wonder why housing is so expensive....then they want more regulations (like minimum wage hikes) to fix the problem the previous set of regulations caused. And when more conservative leaning folks point out that over-regulation is at least part of the problem the liberal hyperbolists come out of the woodwork saying "Oh no! They're going to get rid of all regulations and give everything away to those greedy developers!" That kind of mentality is what has made most California metro areas hostile to the working and middle class, and now even the younger upper middle class folks are being hurt by this kind of extremist thinking.
I also did point out that there are other things driving up the cost of housing, such as the fact that productivity in home building is the same it has been since WW2. That's pathetic and needs to change. I would've provided quotes from the article (which I'd read previously), but, as I said, I hit the paywall.[/quote]
Good post and for the most part I agree, but honestly I don't think you can compare most parts of Texas to the more expensive, urban areas of California. You can still get an affordable house, with low property tax rates in several parts of California; Sacramento, Bakersfield, Fresno, Merced, Lodi, Chico and parts of the inland empire.
OK. So why do you go to work every day? Most likely to make money. Right? Your employer comes in tomorrow and says he will no longer pay you $100 per hour. Your new salary is $1 per hour. After a little gnashing of teeth, you would most likely leave because you can't live on your new salary. You expect to be able to LIVE on what you make.
John is making $10 per hour. All he wants is a studio apartment, utilities, food, and a bus pass. Bare bones existence compared to your $100 per hour job. He is willing to work hard(harder than your desk job BTW) for 50 hours a week. But he can't get a job that will pay enough for that bare bones existence. What is John's motivation to go to work every day? He can't support himself. He can't continue his education. He has no way to get a better job. He has no hope for the future. So he quits and lives in his parent's basement. He opts out because he can't live on what he makes and he no longer sees working as a way out of poverty.
Jane is John's long term GF. Jane makes $10 per hour and lives at home because she has no choice. They always had a dream to be able to marry and live together one day but they can't afford it. One day Jane discovers she is pregnant. Don't judge...it's the only entertainment they have. Their first thought is to get married but they quickly do the math and realize they can't afford a 2br apartment, diapers, formula, medical for the baby, food, utilities, and transportation. But they really want a family. So here's their only option.
Jane becomes John's roommate and moves into the basement. She applies for welfare, SNAP, and medicaid. John starts doing odd jobs for cash around the neighborhood. They are poor but their basic needs are met. Most of their food comes from the foodbank and they use their cash and SNAP to take care of the baby. They can't marry because Jane and the baby would lose their benefits.
This is what happens in the real world when jobs don't pay enough to provide a decent basic living. And you have to have hope that someday you will be able to do better. A job needs to pay enough to live on. If not you will eventually look for another way.
John is a loser; Jane is a fool who is willing to put up with his antics.
If John was as willing to work as hard as you state in your hypothetical story, he wouldn't have quit his job in the first place. He'd have continued at work that ten dollar an hour job while living at home with his parents' blessing while he saved enough money to either get a place with roommates or to move to a different location with better job options once he got enough work experience under his belt at his crap job to be considered worth the extra pay. He might have saved his the ten hours overtime pay he received each week so he could eventually move out. He might have even gotten a promotion at his current job and not had to move at all. Who knows because he just chooses to give up on the rest of his life, playing Xbox when he's not having sex with his girlfriend (when she's not at work, that is).
According to your scenario, Jane doesn't seem to believe that ten dollar an hour job is beneath her as the supposed love of her life does. She's working while living under her parents's roof--unlike her loser boyfriend. If anyone's going to make it out of poverty, I'd place money on her, even given her status as a single mother.
So, she becomes pregnant without having planned to become so because she and John didn't even bother to use birth control of any kind. (In the real world, you'd be shocked at how common this scenario is. People never think that it will happen to them....until it does.) Jane, if she's smart outside of her choice in a life partner, makes sure to *not* become pregnant again until they are on their feet. (This is assuming that John actually sticks around.) She continues to work while John stays home with the baby in their tiny one-bedroom apartment (no need for two bedrooms until the child is older). She receives CHIP health insurance for the child, WIC for herself and the baby. (Most people who collect assistance are employed.) The grandparents help out when they can in terms of child care and financial assistance so Jane can receive some professional training to better her lot in life. Did I mention that they don't have another child as that would permanently trap them into their cycle of poverty or at least make it very difficult to get out of that loop?
When was minimum wage ever enough to afford a 2 bedroom place? Never. I've been on this planet for 5 decades, and minimum wage was always for entry level jobs for teenagers, not adults with families. If minimum wage is not enough, get educated and find a real job.
That's what I did, and I had no help from anyone. I was an uneducated waiter back in the 80's, making $10-$15 an hour (well above minimum at the time), I decided that waiting tables sucked, and enrolled in a community college, got loans, graduated and went to a four year college, got loans, and started a career after I graduated. Sure, I was in debt $40 grand, but that was paid long ago and I still reap the benefits. I'm not special. I had no help from my parents. I was just sick of working for peanuts and did something about it.
If an unskilled person works as a burger flipper making $15/hr, that means I should make $80/hr for my skills. Inflation will go through the roof, and many burger flippers will lose their jobs because businesses will never be able to afford hiring as many people at those wages.
And guess what, I'm as liberal as they come and have been a democrat my entire life. But inflating minimum wage is a very bad idea. There are better ways to help people earn higher wages. Free community college is one way. We need to encourage people to be better versions of themselves, not lazy complainers. Education is the key to higher wages, and not just college, there is a lack of trade workers also, nothing wrong with being a plumber, electrician, or mechanic.
Location: Formerly Pleasanton Ca, now in Marietta Ga
10,345 posts, read 8,559,492 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by fred44
When was minimum wage ever enough to afford a 2 bedroom place? Never. I've been on this planet for 5 decades, and minimum wage was always for entry level jobs for teenagers, not adults with families. If minimum wage is not enough, get educated and find a real job.
That's what I did, and I had no help from anyone. I was an uneducated waiter back in the 80's, making $10-$15 an hour (well above minimum at the time), I decided that waiting tables sucked, and enrolled in a community college, got loans, graduated and went to a four year college, got loans, and started a career after I graduated. Sure, I was in debt $40 grand, but that was paid long ago and I still reap the benefits. I'm not special. I had no help from my parents. I was just sick of working for peanuts and did something about it.
If an unskilled person works as a burger flipper making $15/hr, that means I should make $80/hr for my skills. Inflation will go through the roof, and many burger flippers will lose their jobs because businesses will never be able to afford hiring as many people at those wages.
And guess what, I'm as liberal as they come and have been a democrat my entire life. But inflating minimum wage is a very bad idea. There are better ways to help people earn higher wages. Free community college is one way. We need to encourage people to be better versions of themselves, not lazy complainers. Education is the key to higher wages, and not just college, there is a lack of trade workers also, nothing wrong with being a plumber, electrician, or mechanic.
I've been around a bit longer than you and minimum wage has always been for teens working part time for a little extra spending money while going to school. Then they moved on. They were unskilled and part time and paid as such.
Minimum wage is called that, not basic living needs wage.
Society has always rewarded those that can do more valuable things.
Trying to make low skill jobs pay a livable wage encourages people not to better themselves.
All I know is as automation progresses, many of those low skill workers will have no wage.
I guess some people will be clamoring for the basic living wage just for the qualifications of breathing.
An employer is not responsible for making sure all an employees needs and wants are taken care of . It’s up to the individual.
That might mean 2 or 3 jobs , a side business , living with other people, a YouTube channel ,
Selling stuff on eBay etc etc
There are actually more opportunities now than in the past with the internet .
We only have ourselves to blame.
We only have our own excuses to hold us back .
We need to take ownership for our own financial situation and finances.
Don't forget the trades! Plumbing, welding, HVAC, electical, oil and gas, truck driving, culinary, mechanics, etc etc - some people are simply not wired together to go to college for four or more years and there is nothing wrong with that. These skilled trades (and many others) pay very well and FAR above minimum wage - some of these trades pull in well over $100,000 and more a year.
But hey, ya gotta hone those skills. You gotta have a strong work ethic. You gotta get up early, work long hours, get dirty, and it's not sexy. You don't get to wear a suit and tie or a statement necklace to work every day. But there is a big demand for people skilled in the trades, and those who go into the trades will never see minimum wage again or anywhere close.
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