Category: Musings

U.S. Housing Wages Numbers… Say What??!

On By dotluvs2writeIn Cultural and Political, Economy, Essays, humanity, Life, Musings, News Events2 Comments

I was listening to a young woman’s podcast I sometimes catch, and there was a portion of her show where she was talking about today’s minimum wages and the cost of the average two bedroom apartments in each state.

First off, what is the minimum wage in each state, you may be asking?

Well, of course, they vary in each state.

So I’ll throw out a few states with their minimum wages.

THEN I’ll share the average median income of 50% of households in their area, and finally the minimum amount of income you must make in order to afford a two-bedroom apartment in said state. These are all 2023 numbers.

I’m going to start with my state:

Colorado:

Minimum Wage: $13.65/hour

Median Income of 50% of Households: $1,452/month

Income in Order to Afford a 2-Bedroom Apartment (Fair Market): $32.13/hour

New Jersey:

Minimum Wage: $14.13/hour

Median Income of 50% of Households: $1,545/month

Income in Order to Afford a 2-Bedroom Apartment (Fair Market): $33.50/hour

Louisiana:

Minimum Wage: $7.25/hour

Median Income of 50% of Households: $945/month

Income in Order to Afford a 2-Bedroom Apartment (Fair Market): $19.39/hour

Texas:

Minimum Wage: $7.25/hour

Median Income of 50% of Households: $1,150/month

Income in Order to Afford a 2-Bedroom Apartment(Fair Market): $25.06/hour

Washington State:

Minimum Wage: $15.74/hour

Median Income of 50% of Households: $1,486/month

Income in Order to Afford a 2-Bedroom Apartment (Fair Market): $36.33/hour

New York:

Minimum Wage: $14.20/hour

Median Income of 50% of Households: $1,331/month

Income in Order to Afford a 2-Bedroom Apartment (Fair Market): $40.08/hour

Pennsylvania:

Minimum Wage: $7.25/hour

Median Income of 50% of Households: $1,255/month

Income in Order to Afford a 2-Bedroom Apartment (Fair Market): $23.61/hour

Missouri:

Minimum Wage: $12.00/hour

Median Income of 50% of Households: $1,140/month

Income in Order to Afford a 2-Bedroom Apartment (Fair Market): $18.54/hour

California:

Minimum Wage: $15.50/hour

Median Income of 50% of Households: $1,429/month

Income in Order to Afford a 2-Bedroom Apartment (Fair Market): $42.25/hour

You can read all the states’ information here.

Now, I don’t know about you, but I don’t make anything near $32/hour here in Colorado. Most jobs I’ve looked at since I’ve job searched from 2021 to present day don’t offer anything close to that amount. The most I’ve seen, at least in my field (well, my old field of office work) was around $20/hour.

Considering most individuals don’t make the amount needed to afford a decent two-bedroom apartment, how do they eat, pay utilities, and perhaps pay a car loan or student loan in addition to that?

I realize from reading several years ago that wages have stagnated since the mid-1970s and haven’t kept up with the cost of living. But I didn’t realize it was THIS BAD.

Do you remember when Bernie Sanders was running for president and was advocating for a $15/hour minimum wage? Although, that was across the board and didn’t account for each state having different minimum wages and costs of living.

I recall a few years back, pulitzer prize winning journalist Chris Hedges saying truly the average minimum wage should be more like $22/hour. That seems more on point for many of the more medium to expensive states.

In any case, I know the couple of decades I have left to work, I’ll never be making what is expected and those expected incomes will likely go up in the subsequent years. When do costs ever go down?

In my opinion, this is horrible and not right. Because wages haven’t been keeping up with cost of living, so many people can’t afford to ever buy a house on their own. Meaning, in order to survive in this terrible economy, a multitude of people/family members must live together with multiple incomes to pay the rent and utilities of an apartment. I know this from firsthand experience, as that’s what the situation is in my family.

So, what are your thoughts on this? Are you one of the few lucky people to be able to afford to live in a house, have a high income, or are you somewhere in between? Maybe you’re struggling like most of us. Share your thoughts. Thanks!

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Works cited:

“Out of Reach 2023: The High Cost of Housing.” National Low Income Housing Coalition, June 14, 2023.

The Last Days

On By dotluvs2writeIn Cultural and Political, humanity, Life, Musings, Nature, News Events, Religious, warLeave a comment

“A time is coming when men will go mad, and when they see someone who is not mad, they will attack him, saying, ‘You are mad; you are not like us.’”  ~ St. Anthony the Great

During Orthodox Christian Holy Week before we celebrated Pascha (Easter for other/Western Christians), my church’s bishop came to speak to us on Holy Tuesday evening, as he usually does every year during Holy Week.

In the midst of his homily, he stated (with a bit of paraphrasing), “In 2020, we entered the Last Days.”

This was chilling to hear but not too surprising, as our bishop speaks eschatologically often.

However, it was still sobering to hear him say this. Now, this may be his personal belief, meaning he was not speaking for the Church in a doctrinal or dogmatic manner. Still, it was both sobering and informative.

He uttered the words “Last Days”, not “The End Times”.

We have been in the End Times for nearly 2000 years. But the Last Days is the era that eventually includes the appearance of the antichrist and at some point (we don’t speculate on when this is), our Lord and Savior’s Second Coming.

Having said that, we have no idea how long the Last Days are to be. Days, years, centuries. They could last another 2000 or more years.

However, the state of the world tells us we are in the midst of a spiritual darkness spreading like poisonous tentacles all over the world.

For the past few years, I’ve seen and experienced how the culture and geo-political issues have become alarming.

From flat out denial of scientific biological facts to any sense of sanity or concern regarding our leaders stepping off the cliff into a third world war where mutual nuclear annihilation is certain to occur.

What happened to the leaders that used to understand mutual destruction and made every effort to not take that reckless path but worked for some type of diplomatic solution to world problems?

There is a war on Nature and therefore God, too, and it has been going on for several years now. But all of these issues have culminated quickly in the past two to three years.

Many people, who are blinded with pride, have no problem destroying the environment around them to further their supposed advanced technological discoveries. Nor do they care about the citizens of the globe that do not have the power to stop any of this, who are the main ones paying the price.

Saint Paul said, “Everything is permissible for me, but not everything is beneficial.” (Corinthians 6:12 NIV)

Because we live in a country that promotes never ending oneupmanship that is led by a need to make the most money, there is no off ramp, no halt to examine what we are doing before we take the risk or leap with no return, such as we are learning through AI executives of Google and Apple who are now asking for a moratorium.

Unfortunately, the video I saw on an interview with an ex-Google top official, he had said that if that person doesn’t take the next irreversible step, another person will.

While we are on the precipice of WWIII, we are grappling with this impending AI disaster, as well as no one being permitted to speak the absolute truth that there are two sexes. Science and biology have shown this for millions of years.

I personally think our political and economic systems are broken and need a true overhaul that actually centers on the whole of humanity and not just those who have the power and money to decide what the rest of us are to live with.

The nonsensical rhetoric from radical movements and some political figures regarding the cultural and geo-political situations tells us that we’re at a time in human history that Saint Anthony the Great warned us about.

Throughout the history of man via the Old Testament, we see humanity degrades to evil behaviors, and pride is usually at the root. God had to come in and clean up these messes by us humans, which is done by purging humanity, such as the flood did, giving humanity another chance to make efforts to be selfless and love one another.

Because none of us have the power to stop all of the destruction and evil that is taking place, this purging will take place again, via Orthodox Christian prophecies I’ve read, but this will be the last one where God helps us to walk a righteous path.

The suffering that will increase in the coming days, months, years, that my bishop mentioned, and WWIII being part of it, I’m working to cling to Christ and am struggling to follow Him and His teachings, which include confession and repentance.

I’m praying my focus stays on this:

John 16:33 “These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”

I felt compelled to write this, as I do not want to be lukewarm for which God spits me out, but a good servant and follower of God.

Praying for all. Love to all. God bless.

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The Catalyst for Your Writing?

On By dotluvs2writeIn Beauty, Fiction Writing, humanity, Inspirational, Life, Musings, Past Life Activities, Personal, Writing Techniques2 Comments

Writing friends,

What compelled you to write your first book or short story?

What made you stick to writing stories over the years?

What’s your favorite thing that happens when you write?

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These questions just popped into my head, so I decided to share them in a blog post.

I am asking myself the same questions. Here’s what came to mind in my responses to these questions:

What compelled you to write your first book or short story? When I picked up writing again in 2014, it was my son’s medical history and the power and miracles of God’s holy icons. This was my first story after a nearly 18-year hiatus.

What made you stick to writing stories over the years? The characters and storylines that would enter my head and stay there for more than a few days. I had to write their stories.

What’s your favorite thing that happens when you write? Getting lost in my own storyline and its characters, through writing the scenes. Being in that zone is one of the most amazing and beautiful moments in life to me.

Fellow Writers, please share your responses to these questions. I’d love to see them and discuss. And writer or just reader, perhaps you have something to comment on regarding my writing thoughts. Keep writing!

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