A business and finance guru claims the minimum wage should be raised to a staggering $76/hr so Australians can more easily afford a house.
AJ Clores argued the substantial increase should be carried out so it would ‘match what it could buy in the 1950s’.
‘Back then, a single income could cover the mortgage, bills, groceries, a family car, and even a holiday every now and then,’ he wrote.
‘Owning a home wasn’t a dream, it was just what happened when you worked.’
During the 1950s, the median price for a house was $7,150, which was a little more than double the average income.
Currently, the national median house price stands at $912,563, but this figure is even higher in particular cities, reaching $1,525,956 in Sydney.
Raising the minimum wage to $76-an-hour would be more than triple the current figure, which is $24.95.
A worker on minimum wage would enjoy a salary of $150,000 under the change, which is significantly higher than the average $104,000 salary.
AJ Clores argued the substantial increase should be carried out so it would ‘match what it could buy in the 1950s’
The substantial increase means that house prices, for a lot of Aussies, are 13 times the average income.
Mr Clores argued couples who were working full-time jobs were still not making enough money to buy their own house, and they were forced to rent.
‘The idea of buying a home feels like chasing smoke,’ he wrote.
‘It’s not about “kids these days don’t work hard enough.”
‘People are working just as hard, the ladder has just been pulled up higher.
‘Wages haven’t kept pace with the cost of living, and the gap between what we earn and what we need keeps getting wider.
‘For a lot of Aussies, it’s not about being lazy or irresponsible, it’s about playing a game that’s been completely rewritten.’
Social media users were divided, with some arguing the substantial increase would be unrealistic.
Mr. Clores contended that even couples employed in full-time positions aren’t earning enough to purchase a home, leaving them to rent (stock image).
‘Do you know wages aren’t set by housing prices, and raising wages would only drive up demand for houses and thus prices?’ one wrote.
‘Instead, we need to address the causes of the overly inflated housing prices to drive affordability.’
Another added: ‘If $76 was minimum, how much would a 2L milk cost?’
‘Minimum wage is not the issue,’ a third said.
‘The problem is that the housing and job markets are controlled by affluent older individuals focused only on ensuring their associates and relatives secure good jobs and homeownership.’
Others sided with Mr Clores, saying $76/hr should be the new standard.
‘Should be, but it’ll never be,’ one wrote.
‘We have no chance unless we revolt and start over,’ a second added.
A third joked: ‘Boomers be like “nah, you just have to work harder and not buy a coffee every day”.’
The Valuation Report from the Australian Property Institute (API), issued in May, forecasted a bleak prospect for those aspiring to enter the property market in Sydney.
Fifty years ago, a median priced home in Australia’s most populated city cost just 4.2 times the average worker’s salary.
In 1995, it had only risen to 5.8 times their income.
But by 2015, that same median-priced home was worth 11.1 times an average income for Sydneysiders.
According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, the average salary in Australia last year was just under $103,000, while the median home price approached $1.34 million.
The new data equates to a median home costing more than 13 times the average income.
