McDonald’s worker shares their 'crazy' paycheck and it's time the American Dream gets a fair minimum wage

The minimum wage for fast-food workers has been the subject of debate for the past couple of years. While several states have pioneered laws to protect workers and make sure they earn a livable wage, several others are yet to take similar measures. A video by Just Frugal Me from two years ago reminds people how complex the subject is. In the video, the creator shares a paid receipt of a McDonald's employee to break down how it would be to live off the amount.

Here's how much a McDonald's worker makes

In the video, before sharing the pay details, Josh cautions viewers he wasn't trying to demean or talk down to the McDonald's workers in any way. He then goes on to show an image of the pay receipt which reveals that the worker in question made $631 before taxes for 72 hours of work in a week, which was above the Federal minimum wage at the end.

Using this information, Josh calculates if it was enough to make a decent living in the US. First, he calculates that the worker would earn about $2,524 per month and would need to pay about $300 in taxes and would be left with $2,222. He then estimates what the worker would pay for housing, taking $900 into account. This leaves the worker with $1,322.

Josh estimates that the utility costs for the worker would be about $170 which was the national average at the time. He adds that an average used car in America would cost $397 per month and the worker would need another $100 for insurance. He also added that the average mobile plan cost was about $70 at the time. Josh estimates that workers would need to pay a little over $100 a month for healthcare.

After subtracting all the costs, Josh says that the worker will be left with only $120 per week for food, entertainment, and other expenses. He then argues that this is particularly sad as the worker despite making more than the minimum wage, wasn't able to save anything or live comfortably. Josh presents this as the argument for raising the minimum wage in the US.

Several viewers in the comments section expressed similar feelings and their frustration with the minimum wage. "I worked at McDonalds for a year in the 2000s making $5.25 an hour. $200 something a check. It is what it is," wrote user @Withlovefrominterent .

California pioneers a new law

Earlier this year, California brought a much-debated law into effect, raising the minimum hourly pay of fast-food workers to $20 from $16. The Golden State forced rapid service restaurants with 60 or more locations nationally to raise the pay of workers regardless of the tips they made.

While restauranteurs and experts initially argued that it would result in job losses, recent data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics found 11,000 new fast-food jobs were added since the new minimum wage came into effect.  However, another report from AP argued that instead of cutting jobs, restaurant owners are cutting shifts and hours of workers to combat the rise in operating costs.