Minimum Wage should be indexed to 2% of a city’s median rent.

And here’s why:

Housing costs are the single biggest financial burden facing Americans today.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development define being cost-burdened as spending more than a third of your income on rent. By that definition, over half of the households in this country are cost-burdened. Source

If we want people to be able to afford to live in cities and not get priced out, we have to make a two pronged approach. One is to build houses towards all incomes and price ranges, not just luxury condos. And the other is a robust wage floor so people can actually afford to live.

Fight for 15 is doing an amazing job and I love them, but we have to realize that is quite a few places, $15/hr still isn’t enough to live on.

Which is where the 2% comes in. It allows a minimum wage that is flexible with regards to the costs of living.

And it wasn’t plucked out of thin air either:

Rent should be a third of a persons income, or to restate the equation: income should be three times a person’s rent.

And since a full time job is 8 hrs a day / 40 hrs a week / 160 hrs a month.

So when you do the math, the ideal hourly minimum wage as a percentage of rent works out to around 1.875%, which for ease of calculation is 2%.

Example minimum wages under a 2% rent rule:

I. That puts San Fran’s cost-of-living issue into perspective. 

This solution also works for areas with a low cost-of-living. 

Something I find incredibly cool is that they’ve found neandertal bone tools made from polished rib bones, and they couldn’t figure out what they were for for the life of them. 

Until, of course, they showed it to a traditional leatherworker and she took one look at it and said “Oh yeah sure that’s a leather burnisher, you use it to close the pores of leather and work oil into the hide to make it waterproof. Mine looks just the same.” 

“Wait you’re still using the exact same fucking thing 50,000 years later???”

“Well, yeah. We’ve tried other things. Metal scratches up and damages the hide. Wood splinters and wears out. Bone lasts forever and gives the best polish. There are new, cheaper plastic ones, but they crack and break after a couple years. A bone polisher is nearly indestructible, and only gets better with age. The more you use a bone polisher the better it works.”

It’s just. 

50,000 years. 50,000. And over that huge arc of time, we’ve been quietly using the exact same thing, unchanged, because we simply haven’t found anything better to do the job. 

i also like that this is a “ask craftspeople” thing, it reminds me of when art historians were all “the fuck” about someone’s ear “deformity” in a portrait and couldn’t work out what the symbolism was until someone who’d also worked as a piercer was like “uhm, he’s fucked up a piercing there”. interdisciplinary shit also needs to include non-academic approaches because crafts & trades people know shit ok

One of my professors often tells us about a time he, as and Egyptian Archaeologist, came down upon a ring of bricks one brick high. In the middle of a house. He and his fellow researchers could not fpr the life of them figure out what tf it could possibly have been for. Until he decided to as a laborer, who doesnt even speak English, what it was. The guy gestures for my prof to follow him, and shows him the same ring of bricks in a nearby modern house. Said ring is filled with baby chicks, while momma hen is out in the yard having a snack. The chicks can’t get over the single brick, but mom can step right over. Over 2000 years and their still corraling chicks with brick circles. If it aint broke, dont fix it and always ask the locals.

I read something a while back about how pre-columbian Americans had obsidian blades they stored in the rafters of their houses. The archaeologists who discovered them came to the conclusion that the primitive civilizations believed keeping them closer to the sun would keep the blades sharper.

Then a mother looked at their findings and said “yeah, they stored their knives in the rafters to keep them out of reach of the children.”

Omg the ancient child proofing add on tho lol

People who actively love one color are actually adorable. That person who buys bright yellow shirts all the time because she loves yellow? The person who has a whole blog just for pink items? Like it's so adorable.

Oh hell yeah this includes folks who like black. Go off you funky little goths.

Thank you for thinking I’m adorable for covering my entire social media presence in pink. 

These are hilarious. The last one especially.

One day, you get a knock on your door. When you open it, you see the protagonist from your favorite book standing there, wide-eyed. “I know you won’t believe me,” they say, “but you’re the main character of my favorite book. I know how it ends and I’m here to change it.”

“Oh thank god, my life is really spiraling out of control lately” you say, relieved

Harry Potter pulls out a handgun “I think you misunderstand the point of this visit” 

by Aaron Burden

People need to realize that there’s a difference between straight people and Straight People™

Straight person: Hey, you got a new haircut. Looks really good.

Straight Person™: No homo, but your haircut looks good on you.

In case you were confused 👌

Just like how there are white people who are gay and then there are the White Gays

White people who are gay: “I’m gay.”

White Gays: “I can’t believe I got accused of racism after calling that person a racial slur! I mean, I know what racism looks like because I’ve been discriminated for my sexuality. How is me being racist even possible? I’M GAY!”

Lmao all the angry White and Straight people in the comments, keep reblogging

neurotypical: i don’t have any mental illnesses or disorders Neurotypical™: Happiness is a choice!! ✨✨Have you tried yoga? Drink more water and eat kale ✨✨

cis person: i identify completely as my assigned gender Cis Person™: It doesn’t matter what you identify as, cause you still have Female Genitals! I’m not being offensive!! Read a book on Human Biology! 🚹🚺

men: I identify as male.

Men™: feminazis ruin everything, get back in the kitchen and make me a sandwich bitch

atheists: I don’t believe in god or identify with a religion

Atheists™: Don’t fucking talk to me if you believe in God. Open your closed-fucking-minds!! (usually targeted towards Christians)

nice guys: hey I know when not to invade someone’s space and I totally respect boundaries

Nice Guys™: IVE BEEN YOUR FRIEND FOR A MONTH AND NOW YOURE TELLING ME YOU DONT WANT TO FUCK ME ???? WHAT IS THE POINT OF WOMEN IF YOURE NOT HAVING SEX WITH ME?

this post got all kinds of better since I last saw it

This post is perfection across the board.

christians: i believe in God

Christians™: GOD IS THE ONLY GOD OH GOD IS THAT STAR A PENTAGRAM?!?!?!?!?! READ YOUR BIBLE EVERYDAY IF YOU DONT YOUVE FAILED ALSO IF YOU DISAGREE WITH ME IN ANY WAY YOURE GONNA GO TO HELL CAUSE IM A CHRISTIAN AND IM EXEMPT FROM RULES CAUSE GOD SAID SO

gamers: I like video games

Gamers™: Video Games are Art and you can keep your political correctness bullshit right out of them! Anyway that female character CHOSE to dress that way!

identity vs Brand Identity

my whole family is a swiftie family and at our family reunions, we jam to @taylorswift!! 🌈🦋💓 @taylornation

I WATCHED THIS FIVE TIMES ALREADY!!!! The choreography! The lyric memorization! 👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏 13 standing ovations 4 u

Seriously can we just ADDRESS THIS because I’m CACKLING?? Is it a statement??? Are her arms just warm?? There’s no need to decide. what a 2000’s icon™️

this has the same energy as that one episode of glee when brittany wears leg warms on her arms because she forgot it was winter and wore a tank top and her arms got cold

Omg YES??????? The good ol’ Leg Warmers For Cold Arms™️??? Of course.

its the same photo hldhfgsdfg

Also, I love that she’s standing IN HER WARDROBE wearing this, like out of the 2000’s context, historians will think this is some kind of teenage makeover attempt where she tried to make her own sleeves

‘When you’re 15 and somebody tells you they love you, you’re gonna believe them’

But when you’re 16, you wear arm warmers with cowboy boots cause you DGAF

LGBTQ+ superheroes for Pride month ❤ 

Nice try but the first 3 are not gay. You Tumblr degenerate send your wishful thinking. seriously do you people have to ruin everything…

Deadpool is pansexual. Loki is bisexual and gender fluid. Wonder Woman is bisexual like all the Amazons. Educate yourself about comic canon before saying something ridiculous.

Do you have any reliable sources that can back this up?

You mean… besides the fucking comics?!

Wonder Woman was shown as canonically bisexual in the main DCU continuity in Wonder Woman: Year One (She was heavily implied to be numerous times before then but it was stated canonically in that comic that she had romantic and sexual relationships with multiple Amazons and left her girlfriend behind to journey to our world to stop the threat of Ares sons bringing chaos and war to the world)

She’s also canonically bisexual in Wonder Woman: Earth One where she straight up tells Steve Trevor that another Amazon is her lover and also in DC Comics Bombshells where she and Mera were girlfriends

Loki is canonically bisexual and generfluid…they have shifted from male to female multiple times stating that both are their real form and Odin, Loki’s father, referred to Loki as “Their child who is both male and female” in a published Marvel comics

And anyone who thinks Deadpool is straight has not only never read the comics but also apparently never been to see either movie either because I’m not sure what part of Deadpool grabbing Colossus’s chrome plated ass and dry humping him made them think “Yeah this is a Totally Straight Hetero Just Bros Being Bros”

Fake fans 🙄 Read the comics. all your faves are queer

Wait did people literally not get the memo on any of this?

Fake fanboys act like google is broken and literally the only way they can acquire information is by harassing queer ppl on tumblr with these inane questions.

I’m not into comics, and I’ve only seen a handful of superhero movies, but I’m all about representation. Also I would like to date Wonder Woman. 

Taylor during the rep era vs ts7

It isn’t false.

I love that Taylor reblogs memes about herself. 

I can’t stand… book culture. One time someone got me a canvas bag that was like “Books + Tea = Perfect Day” and I drove to goodwill with that shit so fast

Most books suck. Most books are goddamn awful or utterly extraneous. Don’t get me wrong, I think we’re deeply lucky to live in a world where most books can vanish without us losing anything culturally or intellectually, rather than a world where books are so scarce that a single person might own like twelve in a lifetime. But still. Books are easy to aestheticize as Magical Portals of Adventure and Whimsy if you only read maybe two genres

AH! Words for that whole… situation.

I work at a public library and book culture there is nauseating. Not really among the other employees (though we’ve had a few come through over the years), but the patrons?

Oh god the patrons. Most of the people who check out books are just regular people who like reading. I even have patrons who L O V E to read, and who spend a majority of their free time reading or discussing books, they’re part of multiple book clubs, they always bring a big bag and leave with it full. They aren’t the Book Culture People.

Book Culture People loudly announce that they’re so surprised that there are children who know what books are!

They act affronted when I mention our ebook service, and scoff at the idea that anyone could enjoy reading from a screen instead of off the page!

They are personally offended that publishers hire actors to read the books for audio versions, because they feel that “audio books cheapen the experience of reading” and “audio books are cheating”!

They have to proclaim their fetish for ‘real’ books, whether through tacky tote bags, weird quote filled pinterest boards and social media posts, or awkwardly shoehorning unimpressive humblebrags about all the classics that they’re reading into unrelated conversations with tired library assistants.

They’re terrible, and I resent them because I fear being grouped with them by the nature of my field.

I was literally just talking about a friend whose classmate in her library science program was bragging because she didn’t use any digital resources for her final paper because she “respected books too much.” It’s such a bizarre attitude for anyone, much less an aspiring librarian, to have

I’ve also been approached by people while I read in public who are like “Oh my GOSH it’s so GOOD to see other people who READ nowadays!! Honestly I just have NO hope for our generation” and it’s like, first of all if you’re a reader you should know the last thing anyone wants is to be interrupted by a stranger for unnecessary conversation, and second please shut up holy crap

Oh god, I’ve heard that one before.

Hating accessible books and shunning technology is basically the antithesis of modern librarianship.

I don’t get the ebook hate, ebooks are literally just books. You cite ebooks the same way, and depending on the format, you don’t even say they’re ebooks.

It’s a performative, self important approach to something that I genuinely enjoy, and I think it bothers me more than, say, fandom antics, just because it’s so much more common. People get offended when I tell them I don’t read a lot in my down time, that I genuinely prefer audio books, that I’ll skip their recommendations because I don’t share their tastes.

It’s so… boring.

“People don’t reeeeead nowadays, everyone spends all their time looking at their phoooooones”

My dude

The thing that they are looking at

Is words made of text

I resonate with a lot of this. I do love some of the kitschy bookish stuff, but I don’t like the condescending attitude about BEING a bookish person. While I do prefer holding a physical book, I love my Kindle. It’s a great way to read books while I travel. I also use ebooks to try out new authors. Sometimes I’ll love an author enough to then buy everything in paperback, but it’s nice buying ebooks if I think I’ll only read them once.