Economists Recommend Making More Money to Avoid Financial Hardships

WASHINGTON — A panel of American economists released guidance this week advising workers under financial strain to earn more.

“People need to stop accepting low-paying jobs and find something that actually pays the bills,” said American economist Moshe ben Abraham Yitzchak Cohen. “You can’t expect to eat three meals a day, put a roof over your head, and fuel your vehicle if you’re only making $20 or less an hour.”

The recommendation arrives as the federal minimum wage remains $7.25 an hour. Full-time work at that rate produces about $15,080 a year, below the federal poverty guideline for a single adult. Median weekly earnings for full-time wage and salary workers stood at $1,251 in the second quarter, or roughly $31 an hour on a 40-hour week.

The National Low Income Housing Coalition’s 2026 Housing Wage, the hourly rate needed to afford a modest two-bedroom rental at no more than 30 percent of income, is $34.73. The average wage earned by renters is $24.84.

Cohen said the arithmetic is straightforward. “Poverty is a choice, and these people are choosing to be poor,” he said. “If the job does not cover groceries, rent, and a tank of gas, the correct response is a different job.”

National regular gasoline recently averaged about $4.14 a gallon. Typical market rents have climbed into the high $1,900s a month. Living-wage estimates for a single adult with no children exceed $25 an hour in a large share of states and run higher with children.

Fellow panelist Dr. Harriet Voss recommended expanding hours rather than waiting for pay scales to move. “Work more hours. Pick up the weekend shifts. Ditch the holidays with the family and collect time and a half,” Voss said. “Forty hours at an inadequate rate produces an inadequate result. Sixty hours at time and a half begins to resemble a plan.”

Labor economist Grant Ellison agreed that the obstacle is selection, not prices.

“Housing costs what housing costs. Food costs what food costs. Fuel costs what fuel costs,” Ellison said. “The variable under the worker’s control is the size of the paycheck. Enlarge the paycheck.”

Cohen closed the briefing by restating the core finding. “If three meals, a roof, and gasoline are the goal, the wage must be large enough to purchase those things,” he said.

“Accepting less and then complaining isn't going to solve anything.”

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