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I am no astrophysicist, but he notes: “Hi everyone, my name is Daniel, and I’m an astrophysics professor at UCLA. I’m only being paid $70,000 for this acad
by readingnews 2y ago
I am no astrophysicist, but he notes:
“Hi everyone, my name is Daniel, and I’m an astrophysics professor at UCLA. I’m only being paid $70,000 for this academic year,” McKeown says in the video.
McKeown, listed as a lecturer on UCLA’s website, says he had to move out of his apartment because he could no longer afford the rent.
McKeown says his rent was $2,500 a month. According to RentCafe, the average rent is $3,700 in Westwood.
Hrm, I have no idea what his actual situation or bills are. But 70k is not chump change, and 2.5k rent seems "manageable". Lets see, if his is single, that puts tax at 22%. It is probably 30% with state and local, minus SS tax. Lets kick it up to 36%.
(70000-(70000*0.36))/12.0=3733.33
Ok he is left with 3733.33-2500=1233.33 a month, that is BRUTAL, but I know people that live on less than that after a home mortgage and car note.
Again, I have no idea of his situation. Maybe student loans, maybe a car note, medical expenses, etc, but to state out loud that you have probably 1.2k a month after rent and can not possibly live without _a hundred grand_ extra (what he is trying to raise... which is EIGHT THOUSAND A MONTH EXTRA) seems a bit, I am not sure, overreacting? I am just conflicted about this story. I have really good friends that would do a hulluva lot for a 70k job with a 2.5k rent, but at the same time, it is true we are paying professors (and educators in general) far too little.
Is this just to make a statement maybe?
- cute_boi 2y agoYou haven't done anything extra like insurance, mobile bills, other loans etc... which is also costly. If he is married, has obligations to support parents, you are out of luck.
- jcranmer 2y ago> If he is married If he is married, then his spouse (especially given the marital demographics of people holding advanced degrees) is quite likely also contributing income, and decently likely to be contributing income at least as much as he is. Now married with kids is a different ballgame, but married per se isn't going to be a financial burden.
- mistrial9 2y agohis taxes in total are more than thirty six percent in California, and there is no mention of debt service costs.
- deleted 2y ago[deleted]
- rconti 2y agoI posted the smartasset tax calculator link in this thread but the upshot is his state taxes should be a bit over 4% effective, or about $3k. Total effective tax burden (federal, fica, plus CA) on this pay amount for a single person with no other circumstances is just shy of 23%.
- wesselbindt 2y agoGoing from "I don't know this guy's situation" to "This guy is just making a statement" is a pretty big leap.
- jncfhnb 2y agoHe is asking for 100k, not 100k extra. Factor in state and local taxes, utilities, necessary expenses, transportation, etc. it seems fully believable that he is paycheck to paycheck which gradually boils down to debt when life rolls a 1 and you have to pay $500 to fix something.
- rconti 2y agoThe linked article quotes him: “I’m asking for $100,000 so I can afford my rent”. I take that to mean $100k total, which is $2500 pre-tax. I suspect his effective tax rate is significantly below your numbers. 22% may be the marginal federal tax rate on $70k (I didn’t check), but that would probably put his effective federal rate in the low teens. EDIT: just checked, just below 11% according to this SmartAsset calculator which puts take-home just shy of $54k or $4500 a month. Only if he has ZERO other obligations like child support or student loans. https://smartasset.com/taxes/income-taxes#DV9x0OBRA9 https://smartasset.com/taxes/income-taxes#DV9x0OBRA9