From today’s Myrtle Beach Online:

“For Phyllis Tydings, earning an extra few dollars an hour could mean the difference between living off credit cards and having financial freedom.
Tydings, a Concord Home Depot cashier, makes $8.76 an hour – higher
than the $5.15 minimum wage. But she still struggles to pay the bills.
She makes about $800 a month; her husband, Shelby, a landscaper, makes
about $1,300. Together, their income falls well below the
$3,950-per-month “living wage” that some advocates say the Tydings
family would need to meet basic expenses
.”

Correct me if I’m wrong but doesn’t that come out to over
$24 an hour? Does this mean everyone making less than that are
living miserable existances? Are they all just victims
of ‘the man’? Also – I thought the difference between ‘living off
credit cards and having financial freedom’ was being responsible enough
to not spend more than you make – not whether a ‘living wage’ is
mandated or not.