On Sun, 17 Feb 2008 21:48:35 -0500, Goomba38 >
wrote:

>Lou Decruss wrote:
>
>>> If the economic downturn we are currently in continues,
>>> people won't
>>> be so quick to throw money away, whatever form it takes.
>>
>> Thank you for adding something rational Gloria. We're far from poor,
>> but I still look at $80 as a lot of money. At minimum wage it takes
>> people 2 days to make that much.
>>
>> Lou
>
><gasp!> You're kidding?... hmmm.. no you're not. Wow. That puts things
>into persepective a bit for me.

I think it's up to $7.50 in my state. I don't know if that's a
national thing. Obviously you did the math though.

>Then again it goes back to the idea that minimum wage was never meant to
>be a wage a family could necessarily live off of. <shrug>

In Chicago you need to make almost $17 per hour to afford a 2 bedroom
apartment. I don't even see how that's possible, but that's what they
say. Two minimum wage people with even one child would have to both
work two jobs to pay rent and eat. Not to mention transportation,
health care, clothes, school supplies, etc.

We have a pretty nice lifestyle and it didn't come from tossing 80
bucks out the window.

Lou