Moving towards a living wage What would a living wage in American look like? The Alternatives Federal Credit Union put together this analysis on what it costs to live an affordable lifestyle in the United States. On average, to live sustainable life requires roughly $23,000 a year for an individual. Divided by 40 hours, that amount becomes about $11/hour.
Comparatively, the poverty line for an individual in the United States is roughly $10,000 a year. Under that, and you are eligible for a variety of benefits to supplement your income. The disparity between the two comparisons should provoke some interesting thoughts.
What exactly happens to those who live between the gap of $10k and $23k per year?
| Category | Month (2006) | Month (2008) | Percent Change | Year (2008) | Comments | Source |
| Rent | $628 | $763 | 21.50% | $9,156 | Fair market rent, single BR incl. utilities | HUD |
| Food | $180.95 | $203.25 | 12.32% | $2,439 | Average of low-cost food plan for males/females 19-50 | USDA |
| Transportation | $164.22 | $167.52 | 2.01% | $2,010.24 | Weighted average of amount spent on cars and public transportation | ACS, BLS, EIA, TCAT |
| Communication | $56.48 | $61.49 | 8.87% | $737.88 | Local calling plan, 30 minutes long-distance and Internet | BLS, Verizon |
| Health Care | $122.62 | $143.53 | 17.05% | $1,722.36 | Employee's share of premium and out-of-pocket medical expenses | BLS, Alternatives |
| Recreation | $100 | $100 | 0.00% | $1,200.00 | Arbitrary | Claritas |
| Savings | $56 | $59.81 | 6.80% | $717.72 | Adjusted for inflation | BLS |
| Miscellaneous | $105.08 | $111.13 | 5.76% | $1,333.56 | housekeeping supplies | Claritas |
| Net (Subtotal) | $1,413.35 | $1,609.73 | 13.89% | $19,316.76 | | |
| Payroll Tax | $130.42 | $147.29 | 12.93% | $1,767.45 | | |
| Federal Tax | $118.58 | $117.95 | -0.53% | $1,415.39 | | |
| State Tax | $41.83 | $50.35 | 20.36% | $604.15 | | |
| TOTAL | $1,704.18 | $1,925.31 | 12.98% | $23,103.75 | | |
| hourly@40 hrs/week | $9.83 | $11.11* | | | | |
* The Tompkins County Workers Center/Living Wage Coalition figures that the hourly living wage without health insurance is $12.11 an hour.
See the full report at: http://www.alternatives.org/livingwage2009notes.html.
Compare this to the current guidelines for the Federal Poverty Line:
| Persons In Family Or Household | 48 Contiguous States and D.C. | Alaska | Hawaii |
| 1 | $10,210 | $12,770 | $11,750 |
| 2 | 13,690 | 17,120 | 15,750 |
| 3 | 17,170 | 21,470 | 19,750 |
| 4 | 20,650 | 25,820 | 23,750 |
| 5 | 24,130 | 30,170 | 27,750 |
| 6 | 27,610 | 34,520 | 31,750 |
| 7 | 31,090 | 38,870 | 35,750 |
| 8 | 34,570 | 43,220 | 39,750 |
| For each additional person, add | 3,480 | 4,350 | 4,000 |
SOURCE: Federal Register, Vol. 72, No. 15, January 24, 2007, pp. 3147-3148
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