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How exactly does the economics of getting a job flipping burgers in the U.S. work out these days? Not a rhetorical question, I don't actually know the answer. A

How exactly does the economics of getting a job flipping burgers in the U.S. work out these days? Not a rhetorical question, I don't actually know the answer. Are employers willing to employ fifty-year-olds in such a capacity? How does the pay compare with cost of housing in any given area? How far would affordable housing be located from the place of work? After paying for housing, transport and health insurance as well as other living expenses, would outgoing still be less than income?

a8da6b0c91d 11y ago
Generally speaking the adults doing that stuff are making use of several welfare benefits. A single woman with two kids flipping burgers is often living a lifestyle that would require an unsupplemented income of $50K.
- rwallace 11y ago
  Okay, so it sounds like compared to Europe, the U.S. has a thinner safety net such that welfare alone won't keep you afloat, but it will supplement a low-wage job such that the combination will keep you afloat?
  - a8da6b0c91d 11y ago
    Yes, if you're low income there's the earned income tax credit and you get medicaid/chip/snap/ebt and section 8 and a whole bunch of other stuff. It all adds up to a substantial chunk of change. Unlike in some other countries unemployment insurance (the dole) only covers you for a while before they kick you off.
  - alistairSH 11y ago
    Just barely afloat. If you get sick, your car breaks down, or any number of other things, you can very easily sink.
danielvf 11y ago
I spent some time helping with an English as a Second Language classes here, hanging out with the students, and helping with job searches. (ESL classes here are mostly 30-60 year old, new immigrants, 90% without a green card.) It's hard to understand at first how cheaply people can actually live. $700 a month for one person is enough for a car, phone, lodging, and food. And emergency rooms are "free" if you are sick. (The car has rust, the phone is prepaid, and the lodging is a spare room in someone's house. But it's way better than the previous life in another country.) McDonald's and Wal-Mart are both actually extremely desired jobs. Both pay much better than the other unskilled labor options, and unavailable unless you are legal. If you can get 20 hrs a week at McDonald's, that's all it takes for a much better life than you have now. In contrast, the baseline "undocumented" jobs here, outside of lawn care, is doing a 2-3 hours a night cleaning businesses through a middleman for below minimum wage. This will keep someone fed and alive, but no car, no phone. However, when I was helping, McDonald's job applications had to be done online. Try helping a 68 year old, who can barely speak English, go through a 500 question multiple choice online McDonald's personality quiz....

a8da6b0c91d 11y ago

Generally speaking the adults doing that stuff are making use of several welfare benefits. A single woman with two kids flipping burgers is often living a lifestyle that would require an unsupplemented income of $50K.

rwallace 11y ago
Okay, so it sounds like compared to Europe, the U.S. has a thinner safety net such that welfare alone won't keep you afloat, but it will supplement a low-wage job such that the combination will keep you afloat?
- a8da6b0c91d 11y ago
  Yes, if you're low income there's the earned income tax credit and you get medicaid/chip/snap/ebt and section 8 and a whole bunch of other stuff. It all adds up to a substantial chunk of change. Unlike in some other countries unemployment insurance (the dole) only covers you for a while before they kick you off.
- alistairSH 11y ago
  Just barely afloat. If you get sick, your car breaks down, or any number of other things, you can very easily sink.

danielvf 11y ago

I spent some time helping with an English as a Second Language classes here, hanging out with the students, and helping with job searches. (ESL classes here are mostly 30-60 year old, new immigrants, 90% without a green card.) It's hard to understand at first how cheaply people can actually live. $700 a month for one person is enough for a car, phone, lodging, and food. And emergency rooms are "free" if you are sick. (The car has rust, the phone is prepaid, and the lodging is a spare room in someone's house. But it's way better than the previous life in another country.) McDonald's and Wal-Mart are both actually extremely desired jobs. Both pay much better than the other unskilled labor options, and unavailable unless you are legal. If you can get 20 hrs a week at McDonald's, that's all it takes for a much better life than you have now. In contrast, the baseline "undocumented" jobs here, outside of lawn care, is doing a 2-3 hours a night cleaning businesses through a middleman for below minimum wage. This will keep someone fed and alive, but no car, no phone. However, when I was helping, McDonald's job applications had to be done online. Try helping a 68 year old, who can barely speak English, go through a 500 question multiple choice online McDonald's personality quiz....