Isabel Márquez

My daughter works full time here in Texas. Let me run her numbers. State minimum wage is $7.25. She's making $16. Forty hours a week equals $640 weekly. That’s roughly $2,700 a month before taxes. Texas has no state income tax—the thing they sell you on. So after federal and FICA she takes home roughly $2,300. Average one-bedroom in our city runs about $1,550. That’s 67% of her entire paycheck gone to rent before she eats a single meal. Leaves her around $750 a month for: - groceries - gas - car insurance - health insurance - phone - emergencies - savings Car insurance alone eats a huge chunk of that in this state. She works 40 hours a week and cannot save a dollar. Not because she's careless because there's nothing left to be careless with. I spent thirty years paying off a house here. She's doing the same job I did at her age and she can't afford a basic apartment. That's not a discipline problem. That's not avocado toast. The floor moved and nobody lowered the ceiling. Working full time should cover a roof. In Texas it barely covers the rent on one.