What are you worth?

Published on August 26, 2004 By acohen843 In Politics

The federal hourly minimum wage is $5.15. Some states pay more and some pay less. Some states have no minimum wage.

Rent, gas, food, clothing and utilities. Can you afford to be minimumWaged?

The following list displays the minimum wage paid in each state and the District of Columbia.

Alabama None
Alaska $7.15
Arizona None
Arkansas $5.15
California $6.75
Colorado $5.15
Connecticut $7.10
Delaware $6.15
District of Columbia $6.15
Florida None
Georgia $5.15
Hawaii $6.25
Idaho $5.15
Illinois $7.05
Indiana $5.15
Iowa $5.15
Kansas $2.65
Kentucky $5.15
Louisiana None
Maine $6.25
Maryland $5.15
Massachusetts $6.75
Michigan $5.15
Minnesota $5.15
Mississippi None
Missouri $5.15
Montana $5.15
Nebraska $5.15
Nevada $5.15
New Hampshire $5.15
New Jersey $5.15
New Mexico $5.15
New York $5.15
North Carolina $5.15
North Dakota $5.15
Ohio $4.25
Oklahoma $5.15
Oregon $7.05
Pennsylvania $5.15
Rhode Island $6.75
South Carolina None
South Dakota $5.15
Tennessee None
Texas $5.15
Utah $5.15
Vermont $6.25
Virginia $5.15
Washington $7.16
West Virginia $5.15
Wisconsin $5.15
Wyoming $5.15

Comments

Texas Wahine

on Aug 26, 2004

acohen: Interesting post.

I live in Hawaii, and my husband is in the military, so we have a bit of an easier go of it than many of the civilians who live here. Rent for a small 1 or 2 bedroom apartment (small in Hawaii is much smaller than mainland small, btw) is hard to find any lower than about $1200 a month. Cost of living is much higher here as well. Gas runs about $2.30/gallon (we pay $2.10 on the base) and a box of cereal can be as much as $6 or $7($2 - 4 on base). Many people here work two jobs and still need public assistance. Homelessness is rampant and the school bus routes even include stops to places (such as the beach) where homeless families have set up temporary shelter.

*As a little side note, some jobs that typically are not all that high paying in other areas are quite well compensated here due to heavy union influence . . . a bus driver in the public transportation system can make $50,000 a year and cement workers can make even more than that. Teachers here, on the otherhand, are poorly paid in relation to the rest of the country*

Gideon MacLeish

on Aug 26, 2004

What's sad is, realizing that California has a $6.75 minimum wage, and that the UNION mine I worked at, we were paid a scant $9 an hour to go underground.

I still keep my union card, despite considering it a big joke. I earned the damn thing after all!

acohen843

on Aug 26, 2004

Hi,

Interesting and valid comments. I teach part time and do some computer work part time and work in a grocery store part time. I make minimum wage in the grocery store ($6.75/hour). I use to work in the computer industry but that industry has had some bad times.

I don't mind my economic change in life. I love writing and politics, and teach English as a Second Language. Some of my students were professionals in their native countries and slave at minimum wage in the land of opportunity.

I've always believed that anyone who works a forty hour week deserves to be able to afford the basic necessities of life. At minimum wage this is impossible.

I write about my experiences working at the supermarket on a dfferent blog. The address is:
http://www. bluelemur.com/minimumwaged/ .

Sincerely,
Alan

Madine

on Aug 27, 2004

I've always believed that anyone who works a forty hour week deserves to be able to afford the basic necessities of life.

I would say that if you are still alive you have the basic necessities of life.

Welcome Guest! Please take the time to register with us.
There are many great features available to you once you register, including:

Richer content, access to many features that are disabled for guests like commenting on the forums.
Access to a great community, with a massive database of many, many areas of interest.
Access to contests & subscription offers like exclusive emails.
It's simple, and FREE!