A living wage

I recently was told I was getting a living wage pay raise of 2%. I think that's equivalent to 25 cents. Don't worry, I won't spend it all in one place. I get the whole argument that not all jobs are meant to live off of, and that getting an education is important, but that doesn't come cheap. Most of the people that make this argument didn't necessarily need degrees to enter their decent paying jobs like my father and grandfather did. My ex-husband is another example of someone who started at the bottom and worked his way up the ladder to make what most kids today need an engineering degree for. So is it fair to say that people don't deserve a wage they can actually live off of? Do we even have jobs you can work your way up the ladder without having to go thousands of dollars into debt?

 I work a very physical job, one that is very intricate. One that is very important to the health of the hospitals patients I work for, but yet we are the least payed out of all the hospital workers including cafeteria workers. I've looked at living pay wage scales, and depending on the state and county you live in, a single adult should be able to live off of $21,000 per year before taxes. Could you live off of $21,000 annually before taxes? Should we be calling these people lazy if they can't? What if you put one child into the factor? The pay scale says $46,000 annually before taxes for one adult and one child. Well, lucky for me I've never had to raise a child by myself, but I'm sure it takes more than $46,000 annually to do so, and I know single mothers that make well under that.                                                                           

 I don't have all the answers, but I do have a lot of questions. What is going to happen to future generations of kids who have degrees that there are no jobs for as they accumulate debt? Now that the retirement age has gone up what jobs will retirees live off of when they can no longer do their jobs? Don't we want people to get off of welfare, and pay their own way? Why in 1978 was someone able to work a summer full time job for minimum wage, and afford a years college tuition? Is taxation theft? And last, but not least, will I ever get married again? What does that have to do with a living wage? Nothing, I guess, but wouldn't you like to know?