30 years ago a man could buy his own house, support a wife and kids, have a car and go on holiday abroad once per year. The kids could all get properly educated (up to university if they manage) and there was good healthcare for the whole family. These days you need 1,5 to two median incomes to have that (Talking Netherlands here).
And yet we are far better off than we were 30 years ago by every economic metric. Something is wrong here...
I suppose it depends on what criteria the metric is using. If the only focus is Gross Annual Income without accounting for inflation then yes, we are much better off than we were 30 years ago.
You get the general gist from that sentence. A decent living as opposed to a starvation wage.
I get that, but I find "decent living" to be entirely subjective, and thus too broad to define a living wage.
That's actually why I started this thread.
I don't know what a living wage, or decent living, means in practical terms.
Let's take me for example. I currently rent a tiny (the bed takes up 2/3 of the room excluding the closet; but granted the bed is a queen size I think) room. I share the kitchen and fridge with the landlady and one other tenant. Said tenant and I share one bathroom, the landlady has her own bathroom with the master bedroom. I really cannot do anything at the house besides stay in the room and go out and cook.
Let's take me for example. I currently rent a tiny (the bed takes up 2/3 of the room excluding the closet; but granted the bed is a queen size I think) room. I share the kitchen and fridge with the landlady and one other tenant. Said tenant and I share one bathroom, the landlady has her own bathroom with the master bedroom. I really cannot do anything at the house besides stay in the room and go out and cook.
Would this fall under decent living?
With the exception of the size of the room (my queen bed is more like 1/4 the floor space compared to your 2/3) and the fact that I have two housemates instead of one and a live-in landlord, that's pretty close to my living arrangements. Admittedly, we're getting a steal on the rent (we're simply paying the cost of our landlords' mortgage on a 4-bedroom, 2.5-bathroom house), but the price actually being paid is an argument for varying minimum wage by area, not for what "decent living" means.
I have an amicable relationship with my housemates and socialize with one (the other has Asperger's and just doesn't really socialize), we all have ready access to transportation and we eat as well as you might expect for three bachelors. We can afford hobbies and certain luxuries like video games and Magic: the Gathering. I'd call what I have a decent living.
I don't currently have steady employment (self-employed contractor), but I don't work minimum wage, either. My exit salary at my last full-time job was $49k/yr, working as a software developer for health insurance administration.
I suppose it depends on what criteria the metric is using. If the only focus is Gross Annual Income without accounting for inflation then yes, we are much better off than we were 30 years ago.
The GJ way path to no lynching:
I get that, but I find "decent living" to be entirely subjective, and thus too broad to define a living wage.
That's actually why I started this thread.
I don't know what a living wage, or decent living, means in practical terms.
Let's take me for example. I currently rent a tiny (the bed takes up 2/3 of the room excluding the closet; but granted the bed is a queen size I think) room. I share the kitchen and fridge with the landlady and one other tenant. Said tenant and I share one bathroom, the landlady has her own bathroom with the master bedroom. I really cannot do anything at the house besides stay in the room and go out and cook.
Would this fall under decent living?
I have an amicable relationship with my housemates and socialize with one (the other has Asperger's and just doesn't really socialize), we all have ready access to transportation and we eat as well as you might expect for three bachelors. We can afford hobbies and certain luxuries like video games and Magic: the Gathering. I'd call what I have a decent living.
I don't currently have steady employment (self-employed contractor), but I don't work minimum wage, either. My exit salary at my last full-time job was $49k/yr, working as a software developer for health insurance administration.
Two Score, Minus Two or: A Stargate Tail
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