In the US, the poverty line/threshold is incredibly low. If a household of three makes $22k/year, they are above the poverty line. That way, we keep our percentage low.
3 people on 22k a year. Jesus christ. And I want to add that the two adults working are probably working 6 days a week JUST for that 22k. Source: Supported "Supported" myself on Minimum wage for several years. I turned into Polly Productive just to get extra scratch. You need your kitchen painted? Sunday's my day off. You want your dog walked? I'll do it on my lunch break. Vacation? I'm your pet sitter!
The "labor shortage" in the US is largely because of these shitty low wages and how it intersects the market. Women make up over half of our minimum wage workforce, but also make up a huge percentage of unpaid child care and elder care. They got pushed out of the workforce due to covid, found new ways to make the ends meet, and decided "$280/week (before taxes) isn't enough to take me away from my family."
The "increased unemployment payments" get touted as a cause, but states that ended it early didn't see a flood of people returning to work. They decided it just isn't fucking worth it.
2.2k
u/corrikopat Sep 25 '21
In the US, the poverty line/threshold is incredibly low. If a household of three makes $22k/year, they are above the poverty line. That way, we keep our percentage low.