What is a Living Wage?

California is an extraordinarily expensive place to live. But what does one actually need to earn to afford to live here? A new study has the answers, and the results are stunning. There is absolutely no way a minimum-wage job comes close to meeting basic needs. LAT:

A person working full-time for the state's minimum wage of $7.50 an hour earns $15,600 annually. But a single adult in Los Angeles needs to make $28,126 a year to live modestly, while a single parent needs $62,393, according to the California Budget Project, the policy group behind the report being released today.

The numbers are even worse in Los Angeles.

A two-parent family in Los Angeles with one working member needs $51,035, while a two-working-parent family needs $74,044, the report calculated.

We are not talking about living high on the hog here, jut the absolute basics.

The group estimated the cost of housing, food, transportation, child care, healthcare, taxes and miscellaneous items in regions across the state.

The results also are indicative of the huge need to ensure there is affordable health care for folks earning at or below these amounts. The calculations assume that these individuals do not receive health care through their employers.

One thing is clear. Using the federal poverty line to determine who needs assistance is not useful here in California. It severely underestimates what people can afford.

The report is intended to help policymakers assess where families need the most aid, Ross said. It presents its calculations as alternatives to the federal poverty line, which is often used to measure how families are faring economically.

But the poverty line, the report says, "is an obsolete measure that fails to take into account the reality of modern families." The federal poverty line for a family of four was $20,650 in 2007, less than a third of what this report estimates they need.

Housing and health insurance are two of the most expensive items in a family's budget, Ross said, which highlights the need for programs to help families pay for them.

The report "really points out the need for healthcare reform," said Annelle Grajeda, president of the Service Employees International Union Local 721. "That part of our everyday life should be taken care of."