Boston, the capital city of Massachusetts, is known as the “Cradle of Liberty” for the key role it played in the American Revolution. But gaining financial independence while holding a minimum-wage job in Beantown is virtually impossible, as the base pay there of $9 an hour is well below the $13.30 an hour required for a single person with no dependents to meet basic needs.
Urgent: Do You Think the Minimum Wage Should Be Raised?
The minimum wage is the lowest amount of compensation an employee must receive while performing a specific job. The federal minimum wage is $7.25 an hour,
according to the U.S. Department of Labor. Twenty-nine states and the District of Columbia mandate minimum wages higher than that while 14 states use the federal minimum wage, two have minimum wages lower than the federal level and five require no minimum wage.
An employee is entitled to whichever is highest among the applicable state and federal minimum wage levels. The minimum wage rose to $9 an hour on Jan. 1, 2015, for the state of Massachusetts, including the city of Boston,
the Boston Globe reported. That state's minimum wage will rise to $11 an hour at the beginning of 2017, that newspaper reported.
Vote Now: How Do You Feel About the Minimum Wage?
Meanwhile,
the Massachusetts Institute of Technology says $13.30 is the lowest wage at which subsistence needs can be met by a single person with no dependents in Boston, while $27.26 an hour is the living wage for an adult with one child. A living wage is the minimum income necessary for an individual to earn to meet his or her basic needs. It changes based on number of children, debt, and other considerations.
Tell Us: Should the Government Raise the Minimum Wage?
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