Turning 18 years old in America during the Trump Era

If Trump and the Republicans raised the minimum wage, they'd make 8 years of Obama look like a waste of time for the working-class.

Let's say you just turned 18 years old and that you have just graduated from high school (and now your parents want you to leave the nest). Here's what the Republicans think you can live on every month . . .

$750	One-bedroom apartment (no furniture, household goods or cable TV). Tiny and more affordable 1-room efficiency apartments are very hard to find, just ask an old single man. If you're lucky, utilities such as heat and electricity are included.
$310	Food: $10 a day for fast food and/or groceries . . no steak and lobster, more like canned beans and Whoppers (And this is far more than what food stamps offer single "able-bodied" people without children.)
$100	Car payment (your parents had good credit and co-signed a loan for an old $1,500 car for you so you can drive to work and the grocery store)
$100	Basic auto insurance (no collision, just enough to be street legal. It's very expensive for teens and those in their early 20s).
$20	Basic cellphone plan (cheaper than a landline without cable TV and internet package)
$0	No healthcare or dental insurance (GOP wants to cut Medicaid); no clothing allowance; and no college tuition. (Gas and maintenance for your old car will come from the food budget.)

= $1,280 total per month for basic living expenses (VERY basic!)

One would need to take home (NET) $7.38 an hour AFTER all payroll taxes are deducted (which is more than the current minimum wage) --- AND they would need to work at least 40 hours a week and work every week of the year with no vacations, holidays and sick days (because the GOP made sure that union jobs are almost obsolete).

But Wal-Mart, Amazon and McDonalds (American's biggest job creators) don't even pay that much — or offer enough hours (mostly part-time jobs). You'd be better off joining the U.S. military (school, healthcare, job security, team affiliation, pension, etc.)

So how does the GOP expect our young people to live? The very lucky ones come from very well-to-do (or even middle-class) families that can give them a better start in life. Others are lucky enough to find a room-mate to help them split expenses. But how are the rest (the majority) of these young people expected to survive . . . let alone get ahead in life?

. . . and never mind going to college, buying a house or getting married and having children. It's no wonder most of them voted for Bernie Sanders (not Clinton or Trump) and hate Republicans!

We need a $15 an hour MINIMUM WAGE - - - especially since the GOP has been bragging about how well the stock market and companies have been doing since Trump was elected. George W. Bush was the last President to raise the minimum wage. Trump should not be like Obama and not sign a minimum wage bill for our young the people (who are the future of our country). Trump should raise the minimum wage (even to $10 a hour) if he wants the GOP to win more elections.

And maybe then less young people will stop rioting in the streets, setting police cars on fire and looting stores.

* FYI: Old people trying to live on Social Security have a similar problem because the GOP killed labor unions that offered pensions to supplement their Social Security benefits (and real estate investors are flipping properties and driving up the cost of housing for poor people.)