There was a time when 20 bucks an hour was a good wage.
That time was before something called the Internet came along.
Now 20 bucks for an hour of work doesn’t get many people ahead in this increasingly expensive region. I’m talking about adults here – the kind of adults with families who live in Metro Vancouver.
That’s the sector of the population the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives examined in its annual look at how much money a family of four needs to earn to get by.
This year’s calculation landed on $20.64 per hour, which translates to about $37,565 a year. That’s for each parent. (For the record, the minimum wage in B.C. is $10.45 an hour).
In the words of the report’s authors, “This is the amount needed for a family of four with two parents working full-time to pay for necessities, support the healthy development of their children, escape financial stress and participate in the social, civic and cultural lives of their communities.”
The report, which was released April 27, put together a “bare bones” budget to show what a family of four could afford at that wage. Before I get to it, keep in mind the calculation doesn’t include credit card or loan payments, retirement savings, owning a home, savings for children’s future education, anything beyond minimal recreation, entertainment or holiday costs, costs of caring for a disabled, seriously ill or elderly family member, or much of a cushion for emergencies or tough times.
Here it is:
·      Food: $831 per month. That’s based on estimates by the Provincial Health Services Authority for a nutritious diet. It doesn’t consider special dietary needs, cultural or other food preferences, or the cost of condiments and spices.
·      Clothing and footwear: $184 per month.
·      Shelter: $1,652 per month. Includes a conservative rent estimate for a three-bedroom apartment, utilities, telephone and insurance on home contents.
·      Transportation: $505 per month. Includes the amortized cost of owning and operating a used car, as well as a two-zone bus pass for one of the parents.
·      Child care: $1,356 per month. For a four-year-old in full-time care and a seven-year-old in before and after-school care. That includes the winter, spring and summer breaks.
·      Medical Services Plan premiums: $150 per month.
·      Non-MSP health care: $139 per month. That’s the cost of a basic extended health and dental plan with Pacific Blue Cross insurance.
·      Parents’ education: $92 per month. Allows for two college courses per year.
·      Contingency fund: $241 per month. Two weeks’ wages for each parent, which provides some cushion for unexpected events like the serious illness of a family member or transition time between jobs.
·      Other household expenses: $765 per month. Covers toiletries and personal care, furniture, household supplies, laundry, school supplies and fees, bank fees, some reading materials, Internet, minimal recreation and entertainment, family outings (for example, to museums and cultural events), birthday presents, a modest family vacation and some sports or arts classes for the kids.
Again, it’s a bare bones budget that many in this province could only hope to have each month.
Here’s the reality: B.C.’s child poverty rate has ranked worst or second worst in Canada in eight of the last 12 years. And for the authors of the report, child poverty is very much a story of low wages.
According to the most available data from 2011, one out of every three poor children (32 per cent) lived in families where at least one adult had a full-time, full-year job and a majority lived in families with part-time or part-year work.
“The living wage is a powerful tool to address this troubling state of poverty amid plenty in B.C.,” the report said. “It allows us to get serious about reducing child poverty and ensures that families who are working hard get what they deserve – a fair shake, and a life that’s about more than a constant struggle to get by.”
In 2010, the City of New Westminster became the first municipality in Canada to pass a living wage policy. That means all direct and contracted staff providing services on city premises are now paid the Metro Â鶹´«Ă˝Ół»living wage.
Since then, Â鶹´«Ă˝Ół»city council directed staff to prepare a report on the steps necessary for the City of Â鶹´«Ă˝Ół»to be certified as a living wage employer. That report is expected to go before council in late spring, or early summer.
Note: If there is any good news from this year’s report on the living wage, it’s that it dropped four cents from last year. That’s largely due to a new, more generous Canada Child Benefit.
@Howellings
