Letter: $42 an hour isn’t enough in San Jose? Then what is a living wage?

If $42 p/h isn’t enough in
SJ, what is a living wage?

Re: “Delay ahead: Potholes may not get fixed so fast” (Page A1, May 14):

I understand that we taxpayers apparently did not tax ourselves enough to pay for the pothole fixes. Not a surprise as government is not good at estimating.

What I did find surprising was executive director of a local building trades group David Bini’s remark: “How can anyone live in the Bay Area on $42 an hour?”

I thought San Jose was required to pay a living wage and if $42 an hour or $86,000 a year (which also includes health care, benefits and retirement paid by the employer) are not enough, then what is a living wage in San Jose?

Alan Heimlich
San Jose

 

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