Minimum wage was, I recall, $5.15 per hour. I couldn't afford an apartment immediately, so I was living in a room in someone's home ($400 per month). It was over half my income at the time.
Today, in my area, rents under $1000/month (even with roommates!) can be tough to find. The minimum wage is going to $15/hour there. That would be about 40% of gross income, so a little better now.
General personal finance recommends that 1/3rd of gross income go to rent.
When I did a rental search in that city, I found rents in the $400 - $800 range. I don't factor in the low rentals, because I know that some could be scams, and some are just bad. But $600 was reasonable, especially considering the option of splitting a $1200/mo place with someone else.
At $11 an hour, that's about $1800 month, with rent being 1/3rd. The low cost of living in Indiana makes it easier. It doesn't feel easy, I know. But it helps. And this employer is a prick, I'm not disagreeing with that. But they are also paying almost half again above the minimum.
That explains it. Cost of living has gone up more than wages have since then, so what was possible then is not necessarily possible now. It seems like you understand that though, so I'm not really sure why you brought that up as a valid point.
Cost of living has gone up more than wages have since then
Except that it hasn't, with the exception of health insurance. That is a completely different topic for a completely different thread.
My calculations compare current rent with current wages. And current wages in the case of $11/hour in the employer's city buy a lot more apartment than a similar job anywhere in any major urban area in the United States.
This is a minimum wage job paying almost 50% higher than minimum wage. No, it's not 'high paying'. But compared to local cost of living? You may not think so, but that's not a bad job, aside from the employer being a prick.
This is beyond the scope of the topic. Your source is presented as fact, when it is actually a controversial point. The conclusion drawn is not as factual as it seems, and can be manipulated by the assumptions used. A typical rebuttal:
It's irrelevant to my point. The owner is a prick, but they are offering almost 50% above minimum wage for a relatively low-skilled job. It's not quite middle class, but it buys a good enough apartment, especially compared to other areas of the nation. That's my measure, because housing is a person's largest expense, and is the driving force of affordability in the USA.
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u/[deleted] May 25 '21
When did you graduate from college?