If a person is working 40 hours a week, they should be paid enough to live off of.

[lightcameron]

8. How would you calculate "living wage"?

The definition would be important.

Seems like it would have to be done not nationally, not regionally, not even by state, but by zip code (or maybe even a smaller area than that). And you'd also have to address the issue of someone living in an area where the cost of living is different than that in the area where the business is located, which means companies would find a way to hire people who live in areas where the cost of living is lower, as decided by whomever the legislation empowers to determine the COL in every neighborhood in the country.

Then there's the self-employed. I am one of those, thanks to setting out a couple of years ago with the goal of never EVER working for anyone else for the rest of my life. I'm what some here might consider "rich," but how would the legislation you have in mind deal with the self-employed who are just barely scraping by? One way, I guess, would be to reduce the self-employment penalty tax, which is absolute bullshit, penalizing independent-minded entrepreneurs. But other than that, how would you address this aspect of it?

Interesting topic, by the way.