Minimum Wage Survival 2013 - Tellwut Online Survey Results

The minimum wage issue in the US and specifically in NY has proven to be a very sensitive topic of discussion. This issue created buzz on Tellwut, putting it into the 10 most popular survey categories for the month. Since the beginning of the summer we have been posting live online surveys created by Tellwut members covering the topic which included questions regarding people’s opinion on the minimum wage and law change needs to more specific questions relating to current cases like the Washington D.C. government imposed requirements for big box store like Wal-Mart to raise minimum wage for their workers. These surveys provided numbers comments as well, showing that Tellwut’s online panel members were interested in communicating on the minimum wage issue with their peers. The survey “Do you think that an individual can survive on a minimum wage?”, generated over 76 comments. This online survey created by “surveysrock” showed that over 67% of nearly 4,000 people felt that it was not possible for an individual to survive on minimum wage. 50% of the people that responded with a “No – not possible to survive” were employed (full-time, part-time or self-employed) and 22% were not employed (not retired, nor students). The unemployed who responded to the same question with a positive answer were approximately 50% less than the unemployed who felt that you can survive. When looking at responses based on an income demographic and analyzing the results, we discovered that the biggest percentage of people that responded with a negative answer are actually the people making the least (between 0 and 30K a year) which seems natural because the possibility for them to be actually making minimum wage is higher and they would be able to tell first hand if it is hard to survive with the amount of money they earn. Although only 35% thought that people can survive on a minimum wage, it was interesting to observe how the votes changed with the increase of the yearly earnings of individuals. As income went up, people tended to agree that they would be unable to survive on a minimum wage. Tellwut members also shared interesting comments on the minimum wage survival issue. Here are some of them: A comment from a disabled person living with 12K a year: wiltedviolet: “I have a disability and live on 12000 a year. No section 8 or food stamps. I make too much money to qualify LOL.I do it. It’s hard, but possible. I happen to live where cost of living is very low so that is really lucky. I just got a two bedroom house with a fireplace, garden tub, pastures and mountain views. $350 a month. Now if I was still living in Connecticut I would be homeless trying to live on that!” Another Tellwut member ANNEMA shared: A lot of people are saying that the minimum wage is for teenagers and not meant to live on. Unfortunately, there ARE places where they are paying adult, full time workers, exactly that. For example, I used to work as a substitute preschool teacher in Texas. I made better money than most, but MANY places had teachers who had worked there for years, and barely made fifty cents above minimum. Even the ones who had degrees. And no, it was not an easy job that anyone could do. kjavens: It would be doable with other help but not easy. I drive for public transportation and see people doing it every day. Most don’t get enough to eat, don’t have proper medical care and live in very poor conditions. Minimum wage is not meant for living on. Even the voters that said that minimum wage workers can survive concluded that they would need some assistance: libbyann: They could survive but would not have any extras of any kind. And possibly also be on public assistance. A first-hand comment supporting the point of view of a person that works at a minimum wage but says that can survive. rad013 I have a family of 4 that is surviving off of two minimum wage incomes. It is possible, but it is not easy And in regards to the big issue of minimum wage in an extremely expensive place like NY, this is what we found: FRIENDLY: Not in New York State-you would be homeless. Looking for a better paid job? Monster Works for Everyone. Make it Work for You. Create Your FREE Account Today.