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think

(11,641 posts)
Tue Dec 27, 2016, 12:41 PM Dec 2016

This is the best research we've seen on how many Americans are really struggling financially, and it

This is the best research we've seen on how many Americans are really struggling financially, and it is heartbreaking

By Matt Turner - Dec. 14, 2016, 10:33 AM

A staggering number of Americans aren't making a living wage.

That's the takeaway from a great bit of data from Just Capital, a nonprofit set up by legendary hedge fund manager Paul Tudor Jones.

The organization has built some interactive maps showing the percentage of Americans making a living wage and the income required to pay for a family's living expenses, by county.

The dark green areas are those where a higher percentage of the population make a living wage, while light green areas are those where a smaller percentage make the living wage.

As you'll see from the interactives below, there are huge swaths of the country where a significant chunk of the local population earns less than the living wage.

A staggering number of Americans aren't making a living wage...

Read more and view graphics here:
http://www.businessinsider.com/just-capital-research-on-living-wage-2016-12
24 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
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This is the best research we've seen on how many Americans are really struggling financially, and it (Original Post) think Dec 2016 OP
Clinton was talking regularly about a livable wage. NCTraveler Dec 2016 #1
Yeah, but... Wounded Bear Dec 2016 #4
Yes we need higher wages True_Blue Dec 2016 #9
One of the most consistent phenomena after any modern economic downturn... Eleanors38 Dec 2016 #17
That is a fascinating map! annabanana Dec 2016 #2
I see the rethugs doing away with federal minimum wage laws in the next two years kimbutgar Dec 2016 #3
Learn a marketable skill/trade. Truth321 Dec 2016 #5
Except that alone won't address the problem and raising the minimum wage alone won't cut it.. JHan Dec 2016 #6
Calling it human capital is also reflective of the problem. Fungible, soulless units. JudyM Dec 2016 #15
I won't argue with that.. JHan Dec 2016 #16
Haha Sanity Claws Dec 2016 #10
That is so true. Truth321 Dec 2016 #14
that does NOTHING to address the lack of sufficient good jobs in the economy overall; TheFrenchRazor Dec 2016 #18
Like all those unemployed engineers who couldn't get a job because tblue37 Dec 2016 #19
Actually its more like 1/4 of the salary n/t. airplaneman Dec 2016 #21
True. nt tblue37 Dec 2016 #22
I have a neighbor who lost his high paying engineering job airplaneman Dec 2016 #23
I like to joke that i employers are looking for ways to offshore jobs for bus drivers and tblue37 Dec 2016 #24
Really interesting. PoindexterOglethorpe Dec 2016 #7
Posting from ABQ here-- janx Dec 2016 #8
That's what I'm always told, but then why is PoindexterOglethorpe Dec 2016 #11
K&R Sherman A1 Dec 2016 #12
reagan killed unions. OOPS. trickle down a good thing? for the top, yes. pansypoo53219 Dec 2016 #13
Interestingly, a lot of the billh58 Dec 2016 #20
 

NCTraveler

(30,481 posts)
1. Clinton was talking regularly about a livable wage.
Tue Dec 27, 2016, 12:47 PM
Dec 2016

Amazing what the voters in this country just did.

True_Blue

(3,063 posts)
9. Yes we need higher wages
Tue Dec 27, 2016, 01:21 PM
Dec 2016

Unemployment is below 5%, so the problem isn't that aren't enough jobs, the problem it's that they don't pay enough.

 

Eleanors38

(18,318 posts)
17. One of the most consistent phenomena after any modern economic downturn...
Tue Dec 27, 2016, 07:08 PM
Dec 2016

(the Rustbelt stagflation of the 1970s, the S & L blowout of the late 80s, the dot.com stinker of the late 90s, and the derivative pyramid collapse 10 yrs ago), is the smashing of the middle class, decent pay, and job security. Unemploymemt rates mean little when you shift into first from 60 mph: The gearbox still ruptures.

And I think we are heading for another Crisis®.

annabanana

(52,791 posts)
2. That is a fascinating map!
Tue Dec 27, 2016, 12:50 PM
Dec 2016

I'll bet the breakdown by zip code in the most congested and most expensive areas would be really really instructive.

kimbutgar

(20,876 posts)
3. I see the rethugs doing away with federal minimum wage laws in the next two years
Tue Dec 27, 2016, 12:50 PM
Dec 2016

Stupid people will get what they voted for p, more misery and even lower wages.

JHan

(10,173 posts)
6. Except that alone won't address the problem and raising the minimum wage alone won't cut it..
Tue Dec 27, 2016, 01:00 PM
Dec 2016

American Corporate culture is myopic and places little value on human capital.

JudyM

(29,122 posts)
15. Calling it human capital is also reflective of the problem. Fungible, soulless units.
Tue Dec 27, 2016, 05:51 PM
Dec 2016

The growing "conscious business" and "mindful leadership" trends focus in part on viewing the whole person with his/her personality, strengths, aspirations, concerns, etc. We need to shift the lexicon to be more employee friendly.

JHan

(10,173 posts)
16. I won't argue with that..
Tue Dec 27, 2016, 06:37 PM
Dec 2016

but that's not my intent. We'll end up quibbling over semantics when we both want the same thing - better quality of living, equal access to opportunity etc..

"Human resource" means the same thing in the context I'm using it - and is more important than any natural resource.

Sanity Claws

(21,822 posts)
10. Haha
Tue Dec 27, 2016, 01:30 PM
Dec 2016

Education isn't free, you know. Marketable skills are a moving target. Many people have incurred thousands of dollars in debt trying to get those skills only to find themselves in a deeper hole.

 

Truth321

(93 posts)
14. That is so true.
Tue Dec 27, 2016, 04:54 PM
Dec 2016

We just try to figure what will be in demand when we finish education. It can keep one busy. We indeed have a whole new economy that continues to reinvent itself.

 

TheFrenchRazor

(2,116 posts)
18. that does NOTHING to address the lack of sufficient good jobs in the economy overall;
Tue Dec 27, 2016, 08:09 PM
Dec 2016

it is not about what ANY ONE INDIVIDUAL could theoretically do to get a better job; it is about the economy as a whole, i.e. how many "good jobs" are there, versus the number of workers who need them. and the answer is, not nearly enough.

tblue37

(64,979 posts)
19. Like all those unemployed engineers who couldn't get a job because
Tue Dec 27, 2016, 08:16 PM
Dec 2016

the companies were hiring engineers from other countries, like India, for half the salary?

airplaneman

(1,236 posts)
23. I have a neighbor who lost his high paying engineering job
Tue Dec 27, 2016, 09:55 PM
Dec 2016

About 15 years ago - He commented they were making less than 20K and he lost his 80K engineering job because of outsourcing to India. The only next job he could find was "Plumbers Assistant" At least that job is not going away. P.S. he took greater than a 50% cut on this one - both he and his wife are working much longer than they ever wanted to.
-Airplane

tblue37

(64,979 posts)
24. I like to joke that i employers are looking for ways to offshore jobs for bus drivers and
Tue Dec 27, 2016, 10:34 PM
Dec 2016

short order cooks. I guarantee that of such a thing were possible, they would do it!

But the engineering jobs are not being offshored, Instead, the companies bribe their pet politicians to increase the number of foreign employees they can bring in.

There are legal caps to such hires, and companies are supposed to look for a US citizen to fill the job before hiring from abroad. But of course they simply claim they cannot find a suitably qualified employee to do the job--when in fact the only qualification the US applicants lack is the willingness to work for such low salaries.

PoindexterOglethorpe

(25,746 posts)
7. Really interesting.
Tue Dec 27, 2016, 01:12 PM
Dec 2016

I just wish the maps were a bit larger to make it easier to zero in on specific counties.

But here's something quite interesting: I live in Santa Fe, (Santa Fe county) NM, which is supposedly so expensive that only rich people can afford to live here. People who live in Albuquerque (Bernalillo county) constantly assure me that Santa Fe is well outside of their ability to afford to live here. Living wage in each? $16.99 for Santa Fe county, $16.48 for Bernalillo county. Hardly a vast difference.

Similarly in the Kansas City area, Johnson County, supposedly too expensive for ordinary people to live in, $16.38 living wage. Wyandotte County, just north, whose inhabitants tend to scorn those who live in Johnson county as being spoiled rich people, exact same living wage. $16.38. Same with Leavenworth county. Jackson county Missouri, which is where Kansas City MO is, has a $16.11 living wage. And yet, when I lived in Johnson county, before I moved to NM, I was constantly told by those on the Missouri side that Oh, no, Johnson county was far too expensive for them.

Wonder where these skewed perceptions actually come from?

janx

(24,128 posts)
8. Posting from ABQ here--
Tue Dec 27, 2016, 01:17 PM
Dec 2016


I think it's housing prices. Heck, I'd love to live in work in Santa Fe or environs.

PoindexterOglethorpe

(25,746 posts)
11. That's what I'm always told, but then why is
Tue Dec 27, 2016, 01:42 PM
Dec 2016

there such a relatively trivial difference in the living wage between the two? I also know that the housing price perception is very off, because when I moved here from Johnson county KS, while considered vastly more expensive than Jackson county MO but was still considered to be a moderate cost of living part of the country, the rent I paid for an apartment here was identical to what I'd expect to pay back in KS.

There's a perception that all houses are million dollar homes here. Trust me, they are not. I live in a two bedroom, two bath, three skylight townhouse that is a fraction of a million dollars, although I do have a million dollar view of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains across my back yard.

Truly expensive housing is in places like California, NYC, the Boston area, and certain other specific places.

The biggest drawback to Santa Fe is the genuinely crappy schools. I wouldn't want to live here if I had school-aged children. Unless perhaps I could send my kids to one of the two private schools here, which seem decent. Or I'd live in Los Alamos, because the public school there is excellent, thanks to the dominating prsence of LANL.

Anyway, to me the real difference between the two cities is that Albuquerque is a big city, with all the accompanying advantages and drawbacks, while Santa Fe is a small city, likewise with all the accompanying advantages and drawbacks. I'm personally quite glad I chose the small city, but well understand the appeal of the large one.

pansypoo53219

(20,906 posts)
13. reagan killed unions. OOPS. trickle down a good thing? for the top, yes.
Tue Dec 27, 2016, 03:35 PM
Dec 2016

Last edited Tue Dec 27, 2016, 04:50 PM - Edit history (2)

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