In my sociology of gender class, we were talking about how welfare effects low income single mothers. In the course of this discussion, my professor brought up the national poverty line. To qualify for welfare, you have to have an income below the set line. In 2008 for a family of 4 it is $21,200.
This got me thinking. I had to figure out what the average cost of feeding a person for a day was, for the Tour. With an incredibly basic meal that can be flexible enough to be not boring day after day, I found a person can live off $2/day. That is eating: Oatmeal for breakfast, a sandwich for lunch, and pasta for dinner. All you need to make any of these meals is water and a stove. Basic, but everything you need.
Going off that assumption, it would cost $2920 to feed a family of 4 for a year. At $8/hr (min wage in many states soon), that comes out to 365 hours, or about 46 days a year. For the entire family. Of course, the poverty level is about $18,000 higher than that, and most people work more than two months out of the year – so where does all that other money go?
The problem is in the infrastructure. Rent and utilities cost a lot, and other basic amenities. How can we get rid of those costs? This is where my infatuation with intentional communities (communes) comes in. Dividing the cost of the infrastructure among many people, and making it completely self-sustaining could eliminate infrastructure costs within a generation. If this completely sustainable environment could house three generations, then it could exist in perpetuity with the only costs being food, taxes, and luxuries.
This situation works for all economic classes within the U.S., and is a far more attractive lifestyle that what is currently the norm. And there is nothing mandating working only two months a year, it is possible to work the same number of hours currently worked, and increase the quality of life dramatically.
The problem, of course, is that this only works if everyone doesn’t do it. For widespread adoption, a different model is required. The only real hurdle is the initial investment. But I fully intend to game the system and pull this off for as long as I can. The more people who work with me, the easier it is.