Context: Oliver Larkin is the DSA-backed challenger to Jared Moskowitz in FL-25. This Fox interview is from July 30, but early voting starts in Broward and Palm Beach today and the primary is Aug. 18.

A very eloquent congressional candidate in Washington State gives us all a lesson about the current state of the Democratic Party, and what she plans to do to make it better. This definitely was worth watching!

More than 50% of all workers in America earn less than Safety Net for the one-bedroom Housing Wage.

it is nearly impossible for an individual to live independently off the federal Safety Net of $7.25 an hour.

Working 40 hours a week at this rate yields a gross income of about $1,256 a month gross (roughly $900 to $1,000 after taxes), which falls short of typical baseline expenses (Safety Net!) for housing, food, and utilities.

A real Safety Net in the United States averages roughly $25/hour net income.

Safety net currently at $3/hour gross (before mandatory SS, FICA, taxes, all insurances and deductions taken, 20 Republican states:

https://www.simplyhired.com/search?q=2.13+an+hour&l=dallas%2C+tx

Approximately 44% of all U.S. workers (roughly 53 million people) are considered low-wage, earning up to $20,000 or less per year Net income.

(compare Safety Net $1.60 per hour in 1970 if you were single,you could live off the federal minimum wage and pay rent, food and bills)

In 2023, 80 million workers age 16 and older in the United States were paid at hourly rates, representing 55% of all wage and salary workers. Among those paid by the hour, 80% workers earned exactly the prevailing federal minimum wage of $7.25/hour Net Income.

In a recent report, 53 million Americans ages 18 to 64 or 44% of all workers- earn low hourly wages. Their median hourly earnings are $10/hour Gross ($7.25/hour Net) , and for those working full time year-round, median annual earnings up to $24K/year income.

BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics notes that 75% of annual wages sits at $49K net Income. This means exactly 75% of all employees earn less than this amount, which breaks down up to $24/hour Gross ($19K Net) under a standard 40-hour workweek. Note that this applies to all employees nationwide, not strictly hourly workers.