She Works 2 Jobs. Her Grocery Budget Is $25. This Is Life Near Minimum Wage

[ZiprHead]

https://www.npr.org/2021/03/26/979983739/walk-one-day-in-our-shoes-life-near-minimum-wage?fbclid=IwAR3daeV_HVoNlRfNCPUEnBJW7NBDklFlCOwi98deFwKhEhY3YLHmcqX7aOg

Joyce Barnes sometimes pauses, leaving the grocery store. A crowd shifts past, loaded up with goodies. Barnes pictures herself, walking out with big steaks and pork chops, some crabmeat.

"But I'm not the one," she says. Inside her bags are bread, butter, coffee, a bit of meat and canned tuna — a weekly grocery budget of $25.

The shopping has to fit between her two jobs. Barnes, 62, is a home care worker near Richmond, Va. In the mornings, she takes care of a man who lost both his legs, then hustles off to help someone who's lost use of one side of his body in a stroke. The jobs pay $9.87 and $8.50 an hour. Barnes gets home around 9 p.m., then wakes at 5 a.m. to do it all over again.

It's been like this all her life. Virginia lawmakers last month for the first time approved five sick days to some home health care workers. Paid vacation is a dream. "Work, work, work" is a ring tone one of her grandchildren set for Barnes: "She said, 'Nanny, when you call me, I know it's you, because that's all you do is work.' "

Barnes can't afford not to. Home and health aides are among the lowest-paid jobs in America. Also on that list are cooks and cashiers, file clerks and janitors, drivers and construction workers. The most common low-wage work is in retail.

 

[Rhea]

This is what I hate most for our fellow Americans. Work your ass off and not be able to feel secure.

And home care workers are so exposed to job injuries, from having to lift and move people.

 

[TSwizzle]

This is what the masses of people illegally crossing the US border have to look forward to.

 

[Trausti]

This is what the masses of people illegally crossing the US border have to look forward to.

The people who complain about low wages are the same who champion the flow of low-skilled migrants.

 

[TSwizzle]

This is what the masses of people illegally crossing the US border have to look forward to.

The people who complain about low wages are the same who champion the flow of low-skilled migrants.

I don’t think that is true.

 

[Elixir]

This is what the masses of people illegally crossing the US border have to look forward to.

The people who complain about low wages are the same who champion the flow of low-skilled migrants.

Gee... and people who complain about illegal immigrants are the same people who hire them. (e.g. Donald Trump)

 

[Harry Bosch]

This is what the masses of people illegally crossing the US border have to look forward to.

The people who complain about low wages are the same who champion the flow of low-skilled migrants.

That dosn't apply to me.

 

[Lumpenproletariat]

This is what the masses of people illegally crossing the US border have to look forward to.

And some of them do take home-care jobs which citizens won't take because the pay is too low. So, because of the illegal migrants, some need for home care is met which would not otherwise be met, thus making the country better off. When migrants are prevented from entering to take those jobs, it hurts Americans who need the service but cannot get it because of the shortage of those workers.

So the border-shut-down Trumpster crusaders inflict damage onto these and other American consumers who benefit from the cheap labor = more production/service = higher living standard for all.

Cheap labor is good for the economy.

 

[Lumpenproletariat]

cheap labor + free choice = higher living standard for all

This is what the masses of people illegally crossing the US border have to look forward to.

The people who complain about low wages are the same who champion the flow of low-skilled migrants.

I don’t think that is true.

What is true is that those low-wage workers are better off than the unemployed who cannot get hired because the wage level is artificially too high; and our standard of living increases higher as we allow more immigrant workers, and as we allow more low-wage jobs to exist instead of making them illegal by restricting buyers and sellers from making their own individual free choices.

 

[barbos]

I don't get it. She gets ~$9/hour and it appears she clearly works more than 40 hours a week. So it must be at least $360/week. That's very little but still makes $25/week inconsequential. Her budget is ridiculously tight.

 

[TV and credit cards]

I don't get it. She gets ~$9/hour and it appears she clearly works more than 40 hours a week. So it must be at least $360/week. That's very little but still makes $25/week inconsequential. Her budget is ridiculously tight.

We don't know what her budget is comprised of but I'd venture to guess she doesn't have much in the way of healthcare coverage, so that costs. Further, people living paycheck to paycheck can not handle unexpected expenses. They do not have the $500 or $1000 for a car repair or whatever expense may come so everything is done on a credit card or payment plan which erodes even more of their small pay with interest charges. They may not have a washer/dryer of their own so they have to spend money at a laundromat. All these little things add up and when your income is very low, it takes a toll. It cost money to be poor.

 

[Lumpenproletariat]

I don't get it. She gets ~$9/hour and it appears she clearly works more than 40 hours a week. So it must be at least $360/week. That's very little but still makes $25/week inconsequential. Her budget is ridiculously tight.

We don't know what her budget is comprised of but I'd venture to guess she doesn't have much in the way of healthcare coverage, so that costs. Further, people living paycheck to paycheck can not handle unexpected expenses. They do not have the $500 or $1000 for a car repair or whatever expense may come so everything is done on a credit card or payment plan which erodes even more of their small pay with interest charges. They may not have a washer/dryer of their own so they have to spend money at a laundromat. All these little things add up and when your income is very low, it takes a toll. It cost money to be poor.

It's even worse for the unemployed who have no income at all because employers won't hire them at the high wage level they're required to pay.

 

[T.G.G. Moogly]

I don't get it. She gets ~$9/hour and it appears she clearly works more than 40 hours a week. So it must be at least $360/week. That's very little but still makes $25/week inconsequential. Her budget is ridiculously tight.

We don't know what her budget is comprised of but I'd venture to guess she doesn't have much in the way of healthcare coverage, so that costs. Further, people living paycheck to paycheck can not handle unexpected expenses. They do not have the $500 or $1000 for a car repair or whatever expense may come so everything is done on a credit card or payment plan which erodes even more of their small pay with interest charges. They may not have a washer/dryer of their own so they have to spend money at a laundromat. All these little things add up and when your income is very low, it takes a toll. It cost money to be poor.

A 25 dollar food budget is ridiculously low but certainly doable. At that low level of income life is a matter of balancing insecurities. The article states that many of these persons enjoy their work and only wished it paid more. That strikes me as a bit of a rationalization or even self delusion. I'm not trying to be cruel but I suppose I just can't appreciate the trap some people are in, a "trap" at least from my perspective.

 

[Toni]

I don't get it. She gets ~$9/hour and it appears she clearly works more than 40 hours a week. So it must be at least $360/week. That's very little but still makes $25/week inconsequential. Her budget is ridiculously tight.

We don't know what her budget is comprised of but I'd venture to guess she doesn't have much in the way of healthcare coverage, so that costs. Further, people living paycheck to paycheck can not handle unexpected expenses. They do not have the $500 or $1000 for a car repair or whatever expense may come so everything is done on a credit card or payment plan which erodes even more of their small pay with interest charges. They may not have a washer/dryer of their own so they have to spend money at a laundromat. All these little things add up and when your income is very low, it takes a toll. It cost money to be poor.

Rent. Rent is extremely high and likely takes almost all of her wages.

I've been in that position when rent was much more reasonable. But making barely minimum wage left me with only a few dollars a week for groceries and bus fare, both of which are far cheaper then compared with now. Health care? Emergencies? I was fortunate that I was actually enrolled as a student ( I had managed to scrape up enough to enroll in 3 credit hours that semester) and could go to the university clinic (still not free but better than any other option) when I was desperately sick, and got a very small, interest free short term loan through to help me cover rent when I had to miss days of work due to the same illness. No benefits, not even sick days or vacation. That short term loan is what kept a roof over my head. And I could barely afford food after I was back at work because I was so desperately saving to pay back that little money that kept me housed. I did it but talk about lean times! Another emergency would have been the end of me, I think.

 

[southernhybrid]

I don't get it. She gets ~$9/hour and it appears she clearly works more than 40 hours a week. So it must be at least $360/week. That's very little but still makes $25/week inconsequential. Her budget is ridiculously tight.

We really don't know how many hours she works because part of her time is spent in traveling in-between the two jobs. We don't know how long the travel takes. About 25 years ago, I worked in downtown Atlanta as a QA nurse. The women who worked in the office were all low income, and most of them took public transit to get to work. Atlanta's public transit system isn't very good. One woman told me that she had to walk several blocks to get to the bus stop, and then she had to change buses twice before she made it to work. I drove but during the Xmas season, it took me over two hours to drive 25 miles. Point being, that a city commute can take hours each way. There aren't enough details in the article to explain why her day is so long, but I suspect a good part of it is spent commuting from one place to the other. It would have helped if the article included more detail in regards to her total hours worked. Even if she is making 360 a week, she will be paying about 6.5% in payroll taxes, and probably some in federal taxes. So, her take home pay may be quite a bit less. Her rent certainly could be taking up more than half of her salary, as it's difficult to get help with rent. There are usually extremely long waiting lists. I know this because about two years ago, I tried to help someone, but the lists were so long, they weren't even adding any more names to it.

I'm skeptical about the 25 dollar grocery budget, unless she's living on not much more than beans and rice, but regardless, I think we're missing the point. The point is that a lot of Americans, often women, work in very low paying jobs that don't give them enough income to support themselves. I worked with aides who only made minimum wage, until I retired 3 years ago. Despite living in a rather inexpensive area compared to most cities in the US, these women had a hard time paying their bills. Since they were young and had children, some did receive help from SNAP and in some cases Section 8 housing. The fact is that despite the extremely low pay, home health aides and many other low paying jobs are vitally important. Some of you may realize that one day when you are dependent and need help with your basic ADLS. It sickens me that those who choose such work are treated like shit, and disrespected by many, including their employers in many cases. The work is hard and stressful, but very necessary for those who need the help. None of us know if or when we may need such help, so one would think we would all be more appreciative of those who do this work.

That is one reason why we need a much higher minimum wage. Another reason is that when people are paid a living wage, they don't have to depend on government programs for basics like food and help with rent. Employers should pay enough so employees can survive without having to depend on government. One of my former coworkers once told me that she was embarrassed to be using "food stamps" ( now called SNAP ). I told her never to feel that way because her SNAP benefit was basically welfare for her employer because if the employer paid her enough to live on, there would be no need for help from a government program.

Mandating employers to pay their workers more, would lower the cost of some government programs. Yet, so many Americans judge those who receive these benefits instead of condemning the employers that don't pay an adequate wage. Yes. I'm personally disgusted with those who condemn the working poor! Some of these folks are the most gracious, thoughtful people I've ever met in my life. They deserve better. Nobody should be forced to work two or three jobs just to put food on the table and afford a place to rent.