| tax knocks $31.71/hour to roughly $23/hour in CA, and the majority of people we're discussing don't make nearly $70k/year (31.715240 = 65,956) if you make, say, $20/hour you'll struggle to afford $1k/mo rent plus a reliable car. 20 * 52 * 40 = $41,600/year gross that gets you 2,856.56 / month (no ca tax yet) [1] 2,856.56 * 12 = $34,278/year you pay 1,360.28 + 8% of anything over $39,384 [2], so 1,360.28 + 0.08 * (41600 - 39384) = 1537 so (34278 - 1537)/12 = $2,728/mo You really oughtn't pay more than 1/3 of your income for housing, but since that gets you nothing around here, not even in epa, you're looking at maybe being able to afford $1100/mo in rent. $2200 gets you a pretty basic 2 bed/2 bath in a safe neighborhood in the peninsula (source: I manage an apartment building). Knock off $450 for a dirt cheap car (car + insurance + a bit of savings for maintenance + gas). So $2728 less rent less transportation and you're down to roughly $1178. And our hypothetical employee hasn't eaten, saved money, gone on a date, paid a medical bill, purchased clothes or glasses, or even gotten internet access or a phone. So yeah, pretty much just scraping by. I'd be pretty impressed if someone had $500 left after the above list. [1] http://www.calculator.net/take-home-pay-calculator.html?cann... [2] https://www.ftb.ca.gov/forms/2013_california_tax_rates_and_e... |