California's minimum wage is US$9.00 per hour. Based on a 40 hour week, that's US$360 per week or, over a 52 week year, US$1,560 per month. The average rent in in CA is $US1,957 per month. By these numbers, a person working for minimum wage in CA is, on average, roughly US$400 in the hole. Also, remember, the US$1,560 per month is pre-tax income out of which is automatically deducted Federal and State income taxes and Social Security taxes, leaving a net income of well below the gross...
It is amazing to me how persons earning minimum wage ever manage to make ends meet and survive. To a lot of us, maybe it's just "flipping burgers"; to those who do the "flipping", it's a struggle for basic life...
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