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> What does a living wage even mean.. The definition of living wage is fairly established. It is the minimum income necessary for a worker to meet their basic

> What does a living wage even mean.. The definition of living wage is fairly established. It is the minimum income necessary for a worker to meet their basic needs. Needs are defined to include food, housing, and other essentials such as clothing. This definition is why, in the United States, at least, every few years Minimum Wage (used interchangeably here with Living Wage) would be raised, to keep up with inflation. It allowed the average American to start saving for a down-payment for a house even if all they had was a high school education and nothing else (so, the paperboy you mention). Until, for some reason, we stopped doing that as much. Instead of looking at one of the most inflated rental markets in the country (SF), let's look at somewhere like Idaho - you'll find that inflation has still affected that place, but minimum wage (living wage) to be able to provide those basic needs has not kept up. This is why, countrywide, 40% of non-elderly adults report difficulty meeting basic needs such as food, housing, health care and utilities [1]. But let's consider that paperboy, for a minute. Do you really believe that the only people who deserve the most basic income to be able to live (living wage) are those that are capable of getting a higher education? What about all the other members of a functional society that we rely on? [1] - https://www.urban.org/research/publication/well-being-and-basic-needs-survey https://www.urban.org/research/publication/well-being-and-ba...

glglwty 8y ago
Maybe a functional society doesn't necessarily rely on jobs with below-living wages? Point is, the question of whether you should pay living wages to every worker is basically equivalent to whether you should provide living income to every person, employed or not. When you enforce a living wage, some jobs would disappear and you have to answer question 2 to people who lost their jobs. I don't have an answer for question 2 but I think recognizing the theoretical equivalency here would make the discussion much more straightforward.

glglwty 8y ago

Maybe a functional society doesn't necessarily rely on jobs with below-living wages? Point is, the question of whether you should pay living wages to every worker is basically equivalent to whether you should provide living income to every person, employed or not. When you enforce a living wage, some jobs would disappear and you have to answer question 2 to people who lost their jobs. I don't have an answer for question 2 but I think recognizing the theoretical equivalency here would make the discussion much more straightforward.