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The article mentioned how difficult it is for minimum wage workers to find rentals. I wish it had also included the percentages of workers making minimum wage

The article mentioned how difficult it is for minimum wage workers to find rentals. I wish it had also included the percentages of workers making minimum wage or less over the last 10 years. A common counter argument is that people should simply make more but I’d like to see the amounts of those opportunities relative to the people who need them. Also, given today’s rental background checking, I’d claim that the landlords would simply charge more.

slownews45 5y ago
Because you can't evict folks landlords are setting totally ridiculous standards to rent from them or not renting. It's seen as better than getting stuck with someone not paying who you can't evict. What happened is landords renting to well off people did fine - white collar workers actually did OK during COVID, and folks with money by and large kept paying. Landlords on lower end got screwed by and large (this includes more immigrant / minority landords). Then if you had some property managers etc on payroll you got all sorts of bailout money - so rich got richer. One group that actually I think was happy was section 8 landlords because section 8 kept paying - so good on them.
JohnTHaller 5y ago
It's oddly hard to get these statistics. The federal minimum wage doesn't apply to many states*. 18 states have no minimum wage or have it set as the federal (only $7.25). Georgia and Wyoming set it LOWER than the federal (only $5.15). Some states are a little over in the $8 range. Both federal and states have different minimums for tipped workers. For example, the federal minimum for tipped workers is $2.13. In NY state it is $8.35. It's $9.35/hr in Nassau, Suffolk, and Westchester county. And it's $10/hr for tipped workers in NYC. So "what is minimum wage and how many people make it?" is an annoyingly complex question. One interesting stat is that about 28% of the US workforce makes under $15 an hour. *EDIT: I meant this as some states have a higher minimum wage than the federal minimum wage, so they don't show up in stats like "how many Americans make the federal minimum wage". Sorry for the poor original phrasing.
- bpodgursky 5y ago
  The federal minimum wage supersedes state ones, so "The federal minimum wage doesn't apply to many states" isn't true.
  - Jtsummers 5y ago
    Yes and no. I thought that too, however there are some exceptions still to the federal minimum wage that permits states to set a lower pay. [0] goes into some of the details. However, the vast majority of workers will be paid at least federal minimum wage as I understand it. [0] https://www.debt.org/jobs/minimum-wage/ https://www.debt.org/jobs/minimum-wage/
  - JohnTHaller 5y ago
    I meant more because those states have a higher minimum wage. Citizens in those states can't legally make the federal minimum wage, so they're excluded from statistics on "what percent of Americans make the federal minimum wage". I've edited the post to clarify. Additionally, Wyoming and Georgia have a lower state minimum wage. Employers in the state that are subject to the Fair Labor Standards Act must pay the federal minimum wage. Here's who that covers: https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/compliance-assistance/handy-reference-guide-flsa#2 https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/compliance-assistance/handy...

slownews45 5y ago

Because you can't evict folks landlords are setting totally ridiculous standards to rent from them or not renting. It's seen as better than getting stuck with someone not paying who you can't evict. What happened is landords renting to well off people did fine - white collar workers actually did OK during COVID, and folks with money by and large kept paying. Landlords on lower end got screwed by and large (this includes more immigrant / minority landords). Then if you had some property managers etc on payroll you got all sorts of bailout money - so rich got richer. One group that actually I think was happy was section 8 landlords because section 8 kept paying - so good on them.

JohnTHaller 5y ago

It's oddly hard to get these statistics. The federal minimum wage doesn't apply to many states*. 18 states have no minimum wage or have it set as the federal (only $7.25). Georgia and Wyoming set it LOWER than the federal (only $5.15). Some states are a little over in the $8 range. Both federal and states have different minimums for tipped workers. For example, the federal minimum for tipped workers is $2.13. In NY state it is $8.35. It's $9.35/hr in Nassau, Suffolk, and Westchester county. And it's $10/hr for tipped workers in NYC. So "what is minimum wage and how many people make it?" is an annoyingly complex question. One interesting stat is that about 28% of the US workforce makes under $15 an hour. *EDIT: I meant this as some states have a higher minimum wage than the federal minimum wage, so they don't show up in stats like "how many Americans make the federal minimum wage". Sorry for the poor original phrasing.

bpodgursky 5y ago
The federal minimum wage supersedes state ones, so "The federal minimum wage doesn't apply to many states" isn't true.
- Jtsummers 5y ago
  Yes and no. I thought that too, however there are some exceptions still to the federal minimum wage that permits states to set a lower pay. [0] goes into some of the details. However, the vast majority of workers will be paid at least federal minimum wage as I understand it. [0] https://www.debt.org/jobs/minimum-wage/ https://www.debt.org/jobs/minimum-wage/
- JohnTHaller 5y ago
  I meant more because those states have a higher minimum wage. Citizens in those states can't legally make the federal minimum wage, so they're excluded from statistics on "what percent of Americans make the federal minimum wage". I've edited the post to clarify. Additionally, Wyoming and Georgia have a lower state minimum wage. Employers in the state that are subject to the Fair Labor Standards Act must pay the federal minimum wage. Here's who that covers: https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/compliance-assistance/handy-reference-guide-flsa#2 https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/compliance-assistance/handy...