I was looking at the yearly salaries of state employees and found that some made only 15k/year, bonuses included.
These employees are security guards and work at schools from 8 to 6.
How exactly do these employees survive on only 15k/year?
I guess they might have night jobs but that must be extremely stressful considering they work from 8 to 6 during the day.
Some of them are married or otherwise partnered, and their partner’s income is also available. Some of them certainly do have night jobs. A few of them may have OK income from another job or a spouse but work for the school for the health insurance and other benefits. I don’t know any school security guards, but I sure know some other low-income workers who supplement their income by selling drugs*. And they’re probably dirt poor even if they’re lucky enough to be in one of the above groups who have slightly more than that 15k a year.
*I’m talking about personal acquaintances of mine, not making a broad or class judgement.
8 to 6 is only 50 h/week, so plenty of time for a side job during the school year and additional work during the summer. I was living large back in my 70 h/w days (compared to my college days).
Probably poorly, pun intended. But also realize that a lot of these jobs are held by retirees from other professions (retired cops as security guards, particularly), and for many of them the benefits are way more important than the salary.
Right now, a substantial number of people in the US specifically work because they need health insurance, not money. As we move toward universal health care, the need for this should diminish, and hopefully competitive pressures should start driving those salaries up.
What kind of bonus would a security guard at a school get?
The basic answer is that there is no magic coping mechanism, you just work more and cut back to nothing. People are fighters and can survive on almost nothing, but it’s not pretty.
There are a lot of working Americans who work two or three jobs to get by. They may live in “creative” living situations like renting large closets and porches, sharing a small room with multiple roommates, or spending time between various friend’s and relatives couches and their vehicles. They eat lots of ramen, mac’n’cheese, and beans, and this may be supplemented by food banks and scouting supermarket and bakery dumpsters for expired products that have been thrown out. Clothes come from thrift stores, and basically nothing else can be purchased. Medical and dental expenses just don’t get taken care of.
Yes, some of them may be retirees with other income, or have a high-earning spouse. But I see no reason to assume that’s particularly common. Oftentimes the poor really are pretty darn poor.
School security guards probably don’t work full time. The school year lasts around 180 days a year. This works out to about 85 dollars a day, which is about 10-11 dollars an hour. That’s not a great wage, but it is quite a bit more than minimum wage.
They probably survive by working another job during the summer months, and by living in extremely low-rent conditions. 3 or 4 childless people can live together in an apartment in a poor neighborhood for 200-300 dollars a month each. I did it for about 6 years, back in my late teens/early 20s.
My aforementioned 70 h/w was enough for out-of-pocket health insurance, half of a 2br apartment, a few flights a year, car insurance, good food, IRA contributions, etc. Granted, I couldn’t have supported children at a level I feel is appropriate.
Let’s not forget that a parent with two kids making 15,000 a year will get about $6000 in tax refund thanks to the Earned Income Credit, and will also generally qualify for state rent subsidies, state health insurance subsidies and food stamps.
In other words: “welfare” is the other half of their income. (For some of them, anyway).
If the guards’ working hours are 8 - 6, it seems they’re having to take a 2-hour unpaid lunch, which really stinks.
[QUOTE=John Mace]
What kind of bonus would a security guard at a school get?
[/QUOTE]
Bo-what? Usually, it’s just the “sales and service” types that get bonuses.
You really shouldn’t be funding terrorism on such a limited budget, as much as it pains me to say so on All Patty’s Eve.
When I was in college I had a job that paid $30 / hour and needed me 10 hours a week. I lived with roommates in a little townhouse and paid for all my living expenses except tuition, which I had to borrow.
At the time my days were more than filled with classes and class work, but I sometimes wondered what life would be like if I just kept doing that - living on $15,600 a year and working 7:00 AM to 9:00 AM every day, then having the entire day ahead of me for myself. I decided the bigger problem was not being interesting enough to fill all my days. Much bigger than not having enough money. It was perfectly comfortable for a young single person.
I know a guy with a job that pays around 15k a year. But it includes health insurance and a three day work week. Plus he retired early and is living on his retirement money.
So for him, the job is all about healthcare. The 15k ain’t bad for drinking money.
I think it’s worth noting that different places have vastly different rents, and at 15k it makes a world of difference if rent is 50% or 25% of your income. I live where renting a walk-in closet is $400 a month (I’ve got a friend who does just that), but I know there are places in the US where $400 a month can buy you a single family home.
Also important is that that scraping by when you are young and healthy is a very different thing than it is when you are older, less energetic, and have had time to build up debt, health problems, and adult obligations. Finally, while many of us went through some Top Ramen years when we were just starting out, for the most part we knew that it was a temporary situation and that we would go on to bigger and more prosperous things. It’s really different when that is your life, and those conditions will continue indefinitely.