Comment by autobodie 2 days ago
$23.66/hour in Savannah, GA in 2025 is a starvation wage. Savannah has a bad housing squeeze with very few apartments and they still cost nearly $2K/mo when you find them. God bless those poor souls.
> In Chatham County, the living wage per hour necessary for one adult with no children is $22.46 while those with one kid is $35.70, two kids is $43.45, and three kids is $56.93.
https://www.savannahnow.com/story/news/2024/12/09/what-is-a-...
So that's fine then? A family of four with both parents working at $23.66/hr each is $3.87/hr above that level.
Unless you're saying "starvation wage" and "living wage" are the same thing, which I don't think is a reasonable characterization.
Only problem is if they decide to have a third kid, or if you have a single parent with one or more kids. And while I get that unforeseen things happen to people that lower their wages after they already have their kids, I'm also tired of people becoming parents without considering the financial aspects ahead of time. If you're making minimum wage and are barely surviving, don't have kids until you're on steadier ground.
> I'm also tired of people becoming parents without considering the financial aspects ahead of time. If you're making minimum wage and are barely surviving, don't have kids until you're on steadier ground.
Young is abolutely the best age to have kids. Ask biology.
If you want a society (I do) then you want a society that supports people having children.
If you want a healthy society (I do) then you want a society that supports people having children at a young age.
There are some child care costs for two working adults, so the calculator wants about 15% more money in that case, but yes it says that wage is roughly enough for two adults and two children.
"Living wage" in that report isn't "starvation wage", though. For the housing component for instance, they use 40 percentile rents. The methodology page isn't too clear about how they determine the next highest cost component (transportation), but it looks like they also use the median cost for used cars. The "living wage" might not correspond to a luxurious experience, but it's nowhere near destitute, either.
So the entry level job at the factory is a living wage for the area it's in. Sounds like that's what people have been asking for?
Most factory workers are non-exempt employees and are eligible for overtime pay.
And the Hyundai Metaplant is not in Savannah itself.
The living wage says its right on the edge for the savannah area.
> In Chatham County, the living wage per hour necessary for one adult with no children is $22.46
https://www.savannahnow.com/story/news/2024/12/09/what-is-a-...
Savannah's COL is 22% below the national average. $23.66/hr starting pay plus benefits definitely isn't a "starvation wage".