I don't think I'd pay that much in rent even if I had the money. If I'm going to pay that much per month, it had better be a payment on a house, and even that would be outrageous.

I've thought about moving to one of those cities like Detroit where you can pick up a house really cheap. If I could get enough friends to move up there with me, I think it could be an interesting experiment. If enough younger and middle-aged people who were liberal-minded would move to some of those neighborhoods, it could really transform the city.

If we can't get liberal politicians to ensure that housing is affordable for all and that wages are fair (20 dollars minimum) then we really are going to have a hard time. In Maryland, one of the most liberal states in the United States where I live, I was thrilled to see that they were passing the minimum wage raise. However, they decided to have the 10.10 go into affect in 2018....2018! Heck you will need to raise it again even before then. I just don't understand politicians who are supposed to be our best progressive and liberals are not taking things more seriously.

That accomplished absolutely nothing. As you said, it'll need to be raised again by 2018. If the liberals in Maryland are owned by big business, what hope do we have in other states, not to mention Congress? That's why I say that it's going to take people in the streets to get anything accomplished anymore. We can't depend on any of our politicians anymore. We're going to have to make the politicians fear us more than they fear big business and the other people who have bought them. It's the only way.

Fucking assholes.

Of course the rent is going up.

And not one size fits all. A typical 2 br apartment here is $600 to $700. Groceries are cheaper, energy is cheaper too...

A decent lifestyle is just more ridiculously out of reach some places than others.

maybe in Mud Patch, Alabama.

But you better be living with all your extended kinfolk in a big ass double wide trailer.

Just that if it is $10 here it should be $20 at these places. ..

States that have a higher cost of living should raise their minimum wage to meet a minimum standard of living. States with a lower cost of living, like mine, will never pay more than the required minimum. States like CA and NY should always have a higher wage, but it's really up to state legislatures to determine whether people in their states can live off the minimum wage.

A person could live off $10 and hour here in MS. They wouldn't exactly be comfortable, but they could basically support themselves. It's probably the same in about half of the country. Blue states are generally wealthier than red states and have a higher standard of living. It would also be easier to pass a state minimum wage increase in a blue state, so I guess that works out all right.

However it seems like the same argument I hear from the right when advocating that we don't need a minimum wage. I always considered a minimum wage necessary to make sure the lowest paid workers could be able to get by until they built their value enough to get a raise. This model seems only to accomplish that in the least expensive states, leaving employers in the expensive states to their own devices. ..

we'll see that passed until after I've already retired. I hope I'm wrong. I do think that the country is trending toward a more socialist government, at least with the younger people, but it's going to take a lot of fighting to accomplish our goals. I hope we see a change in American attitudes about action and involvement in our government's workings. That's the only thing that will bring about real change. Simply voting accomplishes little as long as we have this utterly corrupted system in place.

and wages in this town have always been low.

I guess the non-Manhattan boroughs drag down the median rent. Still high but not as obscenely high.

Not sure about Staten Island. Almost never find myself there.

but we have a 3,500 sq. ft. house (2 ba/4+ bdrm, full basement) on 3/4 acre - $738/mo. mortgage payment. Plenty of land for a full service garden.

Those of you who wonder why many of us tolerate the South should check out the cost of living.

working ourselves to death. People in other areas also forget that not everyone in the South is a RW asshole. There are other liberals here and even more people who are apolitical. Some of the Republicans are good people, too, they're just misguided. In a lot of ways, people down here are pretty good. I'd say that the worst thing about the South is the summers. The humidity is brutal, and it can really be hell sometimes.

and I've yet to see apartment prices in the median range they write about. I just looked on WaPo for rentals and a two-bedroom, near a metro stop (which is always more expensive) didn't reach the $3k mark. Granted is was in the $2k range which is ridiculous but they must be talking about rents right smack in downtown DC.