While I am not a proponent of mandating a so-called "living wage", this calculator is interesting. Maybe I'm wrong, but it seems to me that even the higher figures given as "living wages" would not support families very well as they do not include in the calculations any provision of saving for emergency expenses, home or auto maintenance, or the like. And I don't know how they think you can pay for health expenses (presumably including insurance and copays) for the $350 or say they claim in the charts for a family of four.
Part of the DISCONNECT of these stats....info taken in 2008......BEFORE the proverbial sh-- hit the fan. Rent is closer to $950 monthly
on average.....for denver and surrounding areas. Food has increased,almost ALL factors are not current data.
Wages in the US will continue to be undermined as long as the government trashes the dollar, allows a cheap labor pool of people to enter the country illegally, government collects corporate and personal income taxes based upon today's model, and has no tariffs on products produced in communist countries, environment whack jobs in us prohibit specific industries to compete, and continues to loan money to anyone who raises their hand to borrow for higher "education"
