So it seems there wasn't a Politics Images thread before either

[Black Aeronaut]

This one is also something that sticks in my craw, but only because it's far too true.

Real Life Example from Where I Live.

There was a four-bedroom home up for rent not far from where I live.  The neighborhood it's in is not the swankiest by any stretch.  It's very plain, hum-drum, suburbia.  The house itself is at least 40, if not 50 years old, maybe even older.  It has a two-car garage, a front yard, and a fenced back yard, though the back yard is up against a concrete-paved thoroughfare and near one of the local school district's bus depots.  Though the speed limit is 35 MPH on this road, people often blast through there at 45 MPH, even though there are TWO schools right there, and on the same block, too.

Thing is?  The landlord wants $1500 a month.

If I had the credit and money for the down payment for it, I could *buy* a property just like this, and pay less than that for the mortgage payments.

But really, how much money would I have to make in order to afford living there?

Let's run the numbers.

The rule of thumb here, whether you're renting or paying off a mortgage, is that your housing expenses should not exceed one-third of your monthly take home pay.  And it's a pretty good rule at that.

So, $1500 x 3 = $4500

But let's not forget about taxes.  After all, this is take-home pay we're talking about, not gross pay.

Say about 30% for all taxes.  30% of $4500 is $1350, which brings our required monthly gross pay to $5850.

Now.  Hourly wage.

I'm gonna be realistic here and say that our employer only lets us work 30-hours a week, because fuck paying out for full-time benefits.

30-hours a week with about four weeks to a month gives us 120-hours a month.

Which means that in order to live in a place that charges $1500/month for rent without living beyond my means (read: just barely scraping by)....

$48.75 an hour.

How many jobs pays that kind of wage?

In order to realistically live in a place like that, I'd have to be doing something like working as an engineer for an oil company... or have a domestic partner who is also in the work force.  Thing is, both of us would have to be making more than the $15/hour minimum wage everyone else is clamoring for.

As for me right now?  With tips factored in, I'm at-best making about $16/hour on average.  At.  Best.

Which means, at best, I can afford a monthly rent of about $500/month.

How many places do you know of that charge *only* that much for rent?  Sure, they're out there.  But they're in damn short supply.

So yeah.  Something has to be done - both with housing costs *and* wages.