Living Wage in Chicago 2013 - Assignment Example

Single Mother, 2 Children

Married Couple, 2 Children

Housing

$1,231

$1,231

Child care

$746

0

Food

$540.50

$729.50

Transportation

$686

$737

Health care

$1,404

$1,466

Taxes

$639

$574

Other Necessities

$549.17

$607.76

Monthly Total

$5,795.67

$5,345.26

Annual Total

$69,548.04

$64,143.12

Hourly total compensation per adult (2013)

$33.44

$30.84

Housing: The data for housing was derived from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's official website and uses the 2013 Fair Market Rent Documentation System (U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, 2013). According to the site, for three-bedroom units, the cost is $1,231. It is therefore assumed that for a single mother with two children and also for the married couple with two children, three rooms would be needed.

Child Care: Using the Office of Child Care official website to solicit information on the average expenses paid to providers by age group and care type (Office of Child Care, 2013), one assumed that since the children are below 18 years, the figure that could best be used is the national average which totals $373. For a single mother with two children, it could therefore be deduced that as much as $746 in child care expenses to providers should be allotted each month. For a married couple, it could be presumed that one spouse would take care of the children, while the other one makes a living. When one researched on the average weekly rates for full-time child care in a licensed home within the Cook County, Chicago area, it was disclosed that the maximum amount to be reimbursed by the Illinois Child Care Assistance Program for full-time care is $137.75 per week for a total of $551 per month (Illinois Action for Children, 2013).

Food: To compute for the food expenses, the data provided by the U.S. Department of Agriculture Food Plans: Cost of Food at Home at Four Levels was used. Therefore, for the single mother with two children, it was computed that they would spend as much as $108.10 per week on a thrifty plan. Since it was stipulated that the low-cost food plan should be 25% more than the thrifty food plan which made the total low-cost food plan would be about $135.13 per week. Concurrently, for the married couple with two children, it was computed that the total low-cost food plan would reach about $729.50 per week. When compared to the computations provided for Cook County, Chicago by the Massachusetts Institute of Chicago (2013), one computation is almost similar as their computed food costs for a single mother with two children amounted to $536; while that of a married couple with two children, the food expenses totaled $713 (Glasmeier, 2013).

Transportation: The average transportation expenses for the single mother with two children were revealed to be as much as $686 per month; while for the married couple with two children, total transportation expenses would reach $737 per month (Glasmeier, 2013).

Health Care: The health care expenses for a single mother with two children within the Chicago area is $1,404 (Economic Policy Institute, 2013); while that of the married couple with two children totaled $1,466 (Economic Policy Institute, 2013).

Taxes: The taxes for the single mother with two children was likewise computed using the Economic Policy Institute’s Family Budget Calculator, which revealed taxes for the married couple at $574; while taxes for the single mother was noted to be $639 (Economic Policy Institute, 2013).

Other Necessities: It was explicitly noted that the computations for other necessities equal 30% of the housing and food costs.

Conclusion
Based on the computations, their living wages should be $33.44 for the single mother and $30.84 for the married couple; both with two children below 18 years old; which are the hourly rates that would be required to be earned for them to meet their expenses. The annual expenses were revealed as: $69,548.04 (single mother) and $64,143.12 (married couple); while the monthly expenses are: $5,795.67 (single mother) and $5,345.26 (married couple).