As the Legislature considers a bill that would raise the minimum wage in Minnesota, state Rep. Jason Metsa, a DFLer from Virginia, is trying to see, firsthand, what it’s like to live on the current minimum: $7.25 an hour.
It’s early yet, but he’s tweeting about it at @jasonmetsa.
Monday, the first day, he says he spent $2 on coffee and $5 on a dinner buffet.
The first-term legislator, who is 32 and single, is spending the week taking the Working America Minimum Wage Challenge.
He calculated his food budget to be about $5 a day. He projected his other monthly costs on the minimum wage budget to be:
- Housing $359
- Taxes $178
- Healthcare $70
- Transportation $278
- Household and utilities $116
The bill under consideration would raise the state’s hourly minimum wage to $9.95.
