There are many reasons why I will be unable to fully replicate the experience of living on minimum wage. One of the most significant is that – for me – this is a voluntary experiment. If something happens to me, my family or my friends, I get to call it all off. Most people don’t have that luxury.
Without this lifeline and without health insurance, I cannot afford to get sick. So I need to include the costs of health insurance in my budget. As a single man without dependents, I am ineligible for most government (federal, state or city) healthcare benefits. I assume that my minimum wage employer does not offer a medical or dental plan.
The cheapest medical insurance available from Kaiser Permanente is $129 a month, but this includes a $5000 deductible. In other words, I am responsible for the first $5000 of medical expenses. I don’t have $5000, so my best option is a $363 a month plan that has no deductible but a reasonably high copay of $50. Dental insurance is $26 a month.
This reduces my daily budget from $25 to $12. And if I were earning federal minimum wage, it obliterates my budget and I can’t eat.
I need to rethink the cable TV budget.
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ReplyDeleteHow you gonna afford that, poorboy?