8 ms·

It's a bit confusing at a definitional level too. If 60% don't earn a living wage, how are they surviving? Surely your definition of "living wage" is more of a

It's a bit confusing at a definitional level too. If 60% don't earn a living wage, how are they surviving? Surely your definition of "living wage" is more of a marketing gimick than anything, if 60% of people manage to "live" without earning the "living wage"? This definition seems more like - earning a wage that allows living seperately from your parents and without any additional subsidies. Which is not exactly "living". Ask someone in bangladesh or ethiopia about "living wages"

deleted 4y ago
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lm28469 4y ago
> how are they surviving? "Living wage" isn't "surviving wage"
- slothtrop 4y ago
  You will admit though that they are deliberately conflated in the public discourse.
dumpsterlid 4y ago
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gaterin 4y ago
It's good to see people finally admitting America is incapable of being greater than Bangladesh or Ethiopia.
- lovecg 4y ago
  It’s delusional to think that a lot of people from those countries you mentioned wouldn’t want to swap lives with one of those oppressed NYC workers in a second.
  - cloutchaser 4y ago
    Yet from most discourse I see it seems a lot of people actually believe it’s better in Ethiopia. A few years ago Venezuela was held up as the poster child of how to defeat capitalism by the same people.
jasonlotito 4y ago
Living wage is defined. "The living wage model is a ‘step up’ from poverty as measured by the poverty thresholds but it is a small ‘step up’, one that accounts for only the basic needs of a family. The living wage model does not allow for what many consider the basic necessities enjoyed by many Americans. It does not budget funds for pre-prepared meals or those eaten in restaurants. It does not include money for unpaid vacations or holidays. Nor does it provide money income to cover unexpected expenses such as a sudden illness, a major car repair, or the purchase of a household appliance such as a refrigerator. Lastly, it does not provide a financial means for planning for the future through savings and investment or for the purchase of capital assets (e.g. provisions for retirement or home purchases)." Basically: "The living wage is the basic income standard that, if met, draws a very fine line between the financial independence of the working poor and the need to seek out public assistance or suffer consistent and severe housing and food insecurity." In addition: "In light of this fact, the living wage is perhaps better defined as a minimum subsistence wage for persons living in the United States." > This definition seems more like... ...you didn't read it, and you are merely complaining about the name of a rose.
- jkingsbery 4y ago
  > The living wage model does not allow for what many consider the basic necessities enjoyed by many Americans. Call it whatever you want... New York being one of the richest states in the United States, saying that the median person in New York cannot afford "what many consider the basic necessities enjoyed by many Americans" is a contradiction. The idea that 60% of New Yorkers are not even at "subsistence" level of wages just makes no sense.
- slothtrop 4y ago
  That is what it is meant to describe, but it must also have a definition based on qualifying metrics. If sharing an apartment is tantamount to living below minimum standards, then there is a mismatch with it's descriptor, since wages that don't cover an entire one-bedroom does not necessitate that one is dangerously close to requiring public assistance.

deleted 4y ago

[deleted]

lm28469 4y ago

> how are they surviving? "Living wage" isn't "surviving wage"

slothtrop 4y ago
You will admit though that they are deliberately conflated in the public discourse.

dumpsterlid 4y ago

[dead]

gaterin 4y ago

It's good to see people finally admitting America is incapable of being greater than Bangladesh or Ethiopia.

lovecg 4y ago
It’s delusional to think that a lot of people from those countries you mentioned wouldn’t want to swap lives with one of those oppressed NYC workers in a second.
- cloutchaser 4y ago
  Yet from most discourse I see it seems a lot of people actually believe it’s better in Ethiopia. A few years ago Venezuela was held up as the poster child of how to defeat capitalism by the same people.

jasonlotito 4y ago

Living wage is defined. "The living wage model is a ‘step up’ from poverty as measured by the poverty thresholds but it is a small ‘step up’, one that accounts for only the basic needs of a family. The living wage model does not allow for what many consider the basic necessities enjoyed by many Americans. It does not budget funds for pre-prepared meals or those eaten in restaurants. It does not include money for unpaid vacations or holidays. Nor does it provide money income to cover unexpected expenses such as a sudden illness, a major car repair, or the purchase of a household appliance such as a refrigerator. Lastly, it does not provide a financial means for planning for the future through savings and investment or for the purchase of capital assets (e.g. provisions for retirement or home purchases)." Basically: "The living wage is the basic income standard that, if met, draws a very fine line between the financial independence of the working poor and the need to seek out public assistance or suffer consistent and severe housing and food insecurity." In addition: "In light of this fact, the living wage is perhaps better defined as a minimum subsistence wage for persons living in the United States." > This definition seems more like... ...you didn't read it, and you are merely complaining about the name of a rose.

jkingsbery 4y ago
> The living wage model does not allow for what many consider the basic necessities enjoyed by many Americans. Call it whatever you want... New York being one of the richest states in the United States, saying that the median person in New York cannot afford "what many consider the basic necessities enjoyed by many Americans" is a contradiction. The idea that 60% of New Yorkers are not even at "subsistence" level of wages just makes no sense.
slothtrop 4y ago
That is what it is meant to describe, but it must also have a definition based on qualifying metrics. If sharing an apartment is tantamount to living below minimum standards, then there is a mismatch with it's descriptor, since wages that don't cover an entire one-bedroom does not necessitate that one is dangerously close to requiring public assistance.