[bena]

Your math is off.

The difference between $10/hr and $12/hr isn't $2. It's less because of taxes.

It comes out to roughly $2900 gross.

You also figure that if you're living paycheck to paycheck then you've met all of your needs. That's not necessarily true. The person making $10/hr could be skipping meals to last through the pay period.

They could also be skipping on preventative healthcare. Or some other thing.

And it also matters when you were making that $28K/yr. A dollar today is worth less than a dollar yesterday.

[aj7]

Exactly.