Taxing the Rich
gregmankiw.blogspot.com
Historical effective tax rates
cbo.gov
I'm posting directly to you because of a comment that's relates to a discussion we had a couple of times about how much it costs to live a decent but "poor" lifestyle.
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Ryan Fuller said...
"In order to afford food, shelter and healthcare in the US, you need at least $15,000 (low-ball estimate). Call any amount over this "Disposable Income"."
I live on less than that and have food, shelter, and health care, so I'm calling BS.
Then again, I'm a frugal undergrad. I don't spend much on luxuries and tend to walk or ride a bike almost everywhere I need to go.
9:13 PM
Ryan Fuller said...
"I'll do an informal bit of math:"
First, my rent is about half of what you listed, because I don't have or need an entire apartment to myself, and I chose to live in a smaller city rather than an expensive place like New York City or Boston.
For food, I spend less than $4 a day because I buy generic stuff at Wal-Mart. Ten dollars a day might make sense if I were eating out every meal, which is ridiculous. I don't buy everything I like, and I don't like everything I buy. My budget takes priority.
Healthcare actually is provided by my employer, well 75% of it is. I really never use it though, since I actually take care of myself and don't have any stupid habits like smoking or drinking. Those things cost a fortune as well, by the way.
"We're at $10850, and I've only covered three bills. Light/water/heat, yet to be paid. Commute to work, yet to be paid. You really think $4000/yr is unreasonable to cover the rest?"
Light/water/heat and the Internet isn't anywhere near $100 a month all together for me. If I lived on my own instead of finding a couple room-mates to split a house with, maybe my bills would be closer to what you're predicting. However, having a place all to yourself is a luxury that I passed up on. The bus costs a buck each way since I choose not to ride my bike.
I don't even work full time. I get 32 hours a week at less than eight bucks an hour, and not only am I able to stay completely out of debt, I'm actually able to save a decent percentage of each paycheck. I couldn't support a wife and kids on what I make, but working parents seem like the norm now anyway.
When people talk about the bare minimum required to live, it seems like they always overshoot. Maybe that's because they've got an agenda and higher "minimum" income serves their interests, or maybe it's because they really have no idea how little it costs since they've never been in a situation where they really had to see how much they could do to cut their budget. Take that $15,000 figure and knock five grand off of it, and we're looking at a more reasonable figure.
12:07 AM |
