Really? Is $12/hr even close to a living wage for a family?

[Oscarmonster13]

Just had a really promising interview last week. But I will have to bow out of the race because the best salary they can offer is $12/hr...and I don't think there's any chance for raises or advancement either...(small town news gig, full time and evenings)

While cost of living is better in the valley compared to where I am now, it would be a commute over a mountain pass for at least a month till I could get moved (if not longer). That also puts wear & tear on my only car that has 198K miles and may not survive the month of hard driving. Not to mention it would also be a move across state lines, and my healthcare is not something I can lose. (Finally got my medi-Cal worked out and started healing after a horrible crisis with meds last two months, can't take the chance of any hiccups there) Even when the job's benefits kick in, I don't think I could afford the deduction from the paycheck...AND $12/hr seems to put you out of eligibility for most assistance - lower utilities, childcare, state healthcare, etc. Not to mention I am a single parent of tweens, and the school transition would be compounded by the need for (immediate) summer 'daycare' @ $23 per day per child at the rec center...

So what would a living wage be? Is it even possible that I can ever make that much working for 'the man'...?

I went back to school to finish my degree because I thought it would make the job/career opportunities better. I guess my best bet is to either go into teaching or find a few good gigs freelancing that I can get by with (also have other self publishing options). And after the latest bout with this auto-immune illness and seeing what happens when I can't get meds...I may just have to suck it up and apply for disability because the truth is that 40 hours a week at anything right now would most likely put me in the hospital.
Not quite sure where I am going with my rant...just needed to vent i guess. I know the job logistics for me go far deeper than just the salary. i guess I just thought that somehow getting a good job would make things better...

[Tree-Hugger]

1. Well....

Is it really a living wage? Not exactly.

However, $12.00/hr is like a million bucks to my family. We'd be over the moon with that rate at this point in time.

It depends where you live, too. COL can vary widely. As you said, health benefits are extremely important and I can understand not wanting to risk losing them. Plus - tolls and gas add up quickly.

[Oscarmonster13]

2. I know...

at first I thought it was great because the COS in the valley is lower...but as I started looking at housing, and realized the daycare expenses - especially for summer - it quickly became more obvious that it could be a harder stretch. The initial commute and possible car issues are also scary...if I get stranded, there's NO cell service in the mountains...plus, then where would I get a new car?

The healthcare would be the hardest piece...i have to take injections 2x/week of medicine that runs upwards of $1k/month, or else i fall to pieces, literally. It also makes me more succeptible to infection and tumors, liver damage, etc. I hate the stuff but can't live normal without it. I have no idea what the healthcare looks like at this company, but if it's like the last place that offered me benies - it's out of my reach...and I can't go without healthcare while waiting for the benies to kick in.
I haven't worked a full time job since before I was diagnosed in 2007, and I fear I may not be able to do the hours now.

[Tree-Hugger]

17. Definitely not worth the risk

I would be very nervous about the healthcare issue.

Daycare, too. That can really eat up your wages.

I hope you find something much better and that is way more convenient soon!

[Revanchist]

3. That's the trouble with trying to define a living wage

For a single individual in California (I'm assuming that's where the job is due to the Medi-Cal comment) a living wage is, on average, $11.20 and can change depending on the city county where I live in Virginia Beach, they say it's $10.43. Before trying to answer the question about a fair living wage for all is asking what will we use as the benchmark? What one person consider's a living wage will be poverty wages for another so how do we set a "fair" living wage for all? And this is just considering family size and not other considerations such as medical expenses due to age, a healthy 20 year old doesn't need as much as someone in their 50's will a couple of chronic conditions.


BTW, not sure the number of children you actually have, but a living wage for an adult with two children on average in California is $26.33

[Oscarmonster13]

4. spot on

I'm in the sierras...hence the "valley" is carson/reno...

I want to move closer to the coast, like redwoods/sebastopol...but that's yet to be seen.

On edit - ya, anything close to $20 would be more likely "livable" for us. Two kids and me and no child support. My folks help a lot, and right now school financial aid and freelancing fills in the gaps...

[Revanchist]

5. Just out of curiosity, how old are the kids?

I can't remember the age it started at but i spent a great deal of my childhood as a latch-key kid and spent most of the summer unwatched. Then again this was the 70's/80's I'm talking about so you might not want to (or be able to with CPS) do the same for your children.

[Oscarmonster13]

6. 11 & 12

while I leave them for bits to run to the store, etc. not for a full day. And if I was 60 miles away and couldn't get to them it would be too scary :/

[Revanchist]

12. I can see how it could be scary at that distance

I'm pretty sure I was alone at that age but like I said I have fuzzy middle-age memory.

[Puzzledtraveller]

7. I make just a little over that as a social service caseworker

for the commonwealth of kentucky

[Oscarmonster13]

9. ya, but how much is rent?

what's the cost of gas? how big is your commute?...etc...

[ForgoTheConsequence]

14. Same here, and the answer is "no".

I have chosen not to have kids but 12/hr goes pretty quick between rent, food, insurance, student loans. My organization couldn't afford to pay me more if they wanted to, so I can't really complain.

[Demo_Chris]

8. That's decent money. Not to say that I don't feel your pain...

But it sounds like the other costs are more the issue. In any case, twelve isn't bad money. And this talk of living wage is meaningless. There are tens of millions of Americans who would voluntarily chop off their own pinkie for a job like that. Somehow they are living on a whole lot less, and with no hope for anything better in sight.

[Oscarmonster13]

10. I know, like I said...the grappling is more than just salary

I think that my health issues are the biggest factor...and the commute/move with a questionable car...

[Demo_Chris]

13. Yeah, that makes the pay meaningless. Which seriously sucks. Good luck. nt

[riderinthestorm]

11. No. Full stop no. Nt

[SoCalDem]

15. It's better than nothing (maybe?), but you have to see what it buys

1 gal of milk, a dozen eggs, a loaf of bread, a pound of ground beef (that's about $12)

and the $12 an hour is considerably less when taxes are taken out.

[SheilaT]

16. And if you don't take the job,

how long can you go without being homeless? Or taking a job at WalMart? Which would probably be less than $12/hour.

It's possible you have very many other opportunities, in which case of course you should turn this down, but it may well be that working, even at $12/hour is better than not working.

[William769]

19. Can they afford Kale Chips on that salary?