In the United Kingdom and New Zealand, advocates define a living wage to mean that a person working 40 hours a week, with no additional income, should be able to afford the basics for a modest but decent life, such as, food, shelter, utilities, transport, health care, and child care.
So in the United States, there’s two ways to implement it. Option 1: increase minimum wage, or create a universal basic income. People would have more money, and have to buy health care, child care, etc. Option 2: the government provides more basic services, and minimum wage doesn’t have to be increased as much. People have less disposable income but more basic entitlements. Which is best?
Now part 2: if we go with option 1, what is a livable wage? I’ve seen $15/hr discussed in this forum as inadequate. What is adequate? $20 minimum wage? $30/hr? $50? Should it be based on where you live?