Budgeting for Poverty

I've never understood why Republicans could defend minimum wage as it applies to adults trying to support themselves. The numbers never add up. Here is a compelling demonstration. Click here for a video version of the text below.
Budgeting for Poverty

The federal government says a family of four making $18,810 a year is living in poverty.

But how far does $18,810 go in America today?

How do you budget? What do you leave out?

You make the hard choices.

Housing? In America, a family of four making less than $19,000 a year
will spend on average $5,274 annually for the most basic of
shelter.

$18,810
- 5,274
13,536

Utilities? To keep a family of four warm and secure, the average
expense for utilities and public services runs $2,350 a year.

$13,536
- 2,350
11,186

Transportation? A family at the poverty line will spend $4,852 a year to own and maintain a used car, and fill it with the gas and oil
needed to go to work, to day care, to the store, wherever.

$11,186
- 4,852
6,334

Food? Even with public assistance such as food stamps, families
making less than $19,000 will spend $4,815 a year for food
at home and away.

$6,334
- 4,815
1,519

Health Care? Even if an employer contributes part of the costs of health insurance, a family of four at the poverty line would still pay on average $793 a year for health and medical expenses. The cost of not having health insurance, however, could be devastating.

$1,519
- 793
726

Child Care? The costs in a metropolitan-area child care center for two children five and under can reach over $13,000 a year.
Even with child care subsidies, low income families with two
small children will spend on average $2,030 a year on child
care annually.

$726
- 2,030
- 1,304

So now you’re $1,304 over budget, and you still don’t have
everything you need.

What do you leave out?

Toiletries, School Supplies, Shoes, Clothes, Holiday Gifts,
Education, Life Insurance, Furnishings, Recreation, Cleaning
Supplies, Entertainment, Birthday Gifts?

These are the decisions that people are forced to make every day
when they live in the state of poverty.

Visit http://www.povertyusa.org to learn more.

Source of Statistics:

Rent, utilities, transportation, food, health care: Consumer Expenditures Survey, U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, February 2004; Child care: Expenditures on Children by Families, United States Department of Agriculture, Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion, April 2004 Poverty threshold: U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey 2004 Annual Social and Economic Supplement

One might quibble on the example. Why would this person need a car? Can you imagine trying to find a job on the bus line in times like these? That would rule out most of the jobs for which you might qualify. Even so, the $4800 save would be more than eaten up by clothing, bus fare, school supplies, and household goods.
Two full time jobs at minimum wage amounts to a little over $22,000 a year. Do you know how difficult it is to find a minimum wage job with reliable full time hours and medical benefits? Medical benefits cost more than the hourly wage. The $18000 a year for two wage earners seems a pretty realistic figure for many unskilled workers. Yet I hear people complaining about multiple families living together: "How can they live like that?" with a tone of disdain. People do amazing things when they have no choice.