The ChatGPT Living Wage Test
We ask AI what minimum wage would provide a living wage for various family profiles and various locations.
The answer is: $25.76/hour for each. The question is: “What is the living wage for 2 parents with 2 kids and both parents working full time in Michigan?
Since everyone plays with AI these days (even if just the free version), here is an exercise: What wage per hour would be required for various family profiles to constitute a “living wage” (ChatGPT taps into the MIT Living Wage Calculator).
We got on this topic since the Employment Cost Index and the more recent payroll data are showing negative real wage growth. That gets very little press from either party on the scale that it should (see Payroll Deltas July: Mixed Bag, Mediocre Numbers 8-9-26, Employment Cost Index June 2026: Inflation > Wage Growth 7-31-25).
The exercise is computing a minimum wage that would be required to provide a living wage for a range of family types (single parent, married, kids, no kids, where are they located to eliminate cost of living variances, etc.)
In 5 minutes, you can run through more than a few variations and combinations or simply pick some near and dear to your family tree or location.
The conclusion is the working person is screwed. The Federal minimum wage debate became something of a non-topic since it barely was addressed in 1997 (phased in to $5.15) and 2009 (phased in to $7.25). Is this the year when minimum wage legislation would matter more after an inflation bout with the purported great friend of the working man in the White House.
We will start off with a Teddy Roosevelt quote before the usual ignorant meatheads start screaming “Communism”:
Theodore Roosevelt in 1912: “We stand for a living wage. Wages are subnormal if they fail to provide a living for those who devote their time and energy to industrial occupations.”
Here are a few living wage permutations:
Lives in Cleveland, Ohio: 1 working parent in a family of 3. Answer: $35.08 per hour. For 2 working parents it is $22.66 per hour for each.
Lives in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Single mom with 1 kid. Answer: $42.30
Same single Mom in Philly has a 2nd kid. Answer: $57.66 per hour.
Lives in Des Moines, Iowa: Family of 5 with 3 kids, both parents work. Answer: $30.82 for each parent.
Lives in Queens, NYC: 1 single person. Answer: $32.48 per hour.
Lives in San Francisco, California: Young couple, no kids. Answer: $27-$28 per hour each. They have 1 kid. That raises needs to $35.05 per hour.
We note there is a rational basic needs definition of living wage that is laid out. The wage demands to hit a basic level are daunting in the context of the “extras” in life. The exercise is revealing but also troubling.
Could this be the election cycle to make some major headway on minimum wage? We have seen political outcomes that would seem impossible to a rational person a few decades ago, so anything is possible. It would be an action consistent with American history (notably since Depression years) and would certainly smoke out who is really on the side of normal workers.
We see some legislative initiatives underway now, but you really have to go digging for them, and they seem more like resume fodder than priorities. The $25 number seems to be a focal point since some local laws have embraced that, but a little time in the calculator highlights that even $25 is too low.
Minimum wage legislation has been a loser as an issue in the past, but we are in the third major inflation wave in my lifetime (late 1973 to early 1975, 1979 to 1981, and now 2022 to current), This is as good a time as any with everyone claiming to be the working man’s friend. This would be a good time for the Democrats to “call BS” on MAGA and the GOP or call BS on themselves.