Thursday 2nd of May 2024
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macvisa...

McDonalds and Visa Show It's Easy to Get By on a Low Salary as Long as You Don't Eat

 

 

From the Slate, WASHINGTON POST...

I don't quite know what they were thinking, but McDonalds and Visa teamed up to create a pamphlet encouraging low-wage workers to set budgets for themselves and came up with a pretty ridiculous sample scenario.

They start by assuming that you're working two jobs (this comes out to a bit over 240 hours a month at minimum wage) and then that your monthly budget doesn't include money for extravagances such as heat. Then your $27 dollars a day needs to cover your gasoline, and minor details like food and clothing along with entertainment.* Fortunately, McDonalds promises its crew members free uniforms and free or discounted food so during the heat-free summer months you're in good shape. 

* Correction, July 15, 2013: An earlier version of this post suggested that McDonalds had left food and clothing out of the budget, when in fact they're classifying them as daily expenses rather than fixed monthly ones. 

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Correction: GUS: Where's the tax on income?... or is earning slightly more than $US24,000 non taxable?


they call this living...

In Sydney, one would have to double the "costs" on many things...

If you wish to have a room and a bathroom you can call your own, one needs to spend at least $300 per week = $1200 monthly. Car and home insurance? Bugger... life is cheap in the US... In Sydney one needs to double this. Heating: ZERO?... I know I am a tad old and I need a bit of warmth in winter... Even in the mild winter of Sydney where today was 22 degrees Celsius, one needs to spend double on the electricity for about three months... Health insurance can be cheaper here if you don't get sick... and medicare is affordable, though still 2 per cent of income... Then there is the problem of taxable income (this includes the problem of having an accounting firm filling in the blanks)... and transport to and fro from work... Watching a movie at the cinema about 20 bucks... and a few daily beers at the pub plus LAUNDRY...  LAUNDRY? And cologne...  That's the stuff that stops you from being rejected by the opposite sex straight away... You'll be rejected sure, as soon as they discover the hive you're living in... But at least you could have polished your hopes for a few hours with the smell of fresh...

 

Don't worry kids, Uncle Gus has been there too, in his young days... Horse meat was not for pets with delicate palate then... Public transport and car was replaced by a bicycle... Gus arrived in Australia as a 20 bucks migrant with 20 bucks savings in his pockets for two people...