In a
recent post on social security reform I found this nugget in the analysis:
"To bring a little realism to the issue let's assume the taxpayer is an uneducated dock worker at LA -Long Beach Harbor and makes $120,000 a year. That his wife works as an administrative assistant who makes $60,000 a year."
Now I realize that the cost of living, and thus wages, are higher on the coasts than in the bulk of the US. But if uneducated dock workers are pulling down $120k then I think I wasted my time in college.
Recent salary surveys show that people in the IT and computer programming areas - even in LA - don't make anywhere near $120k. The average in LA is closer to $75K.
This means that uneducated dock workers are making an average of $45k more than a computer professional with a four year college degree.
My guess (just a guess mind you) is that the average dock worker doesn't actually pull down $120k. That the "realism" is just a touch less realistic than the author would like us to believe...