Eric Zorn: Trump administration will back away from public execution

Oh, yeah, good, and by the way, just here's a couple of other comments.

We visited with one of the striking hotel workers a little while ago who makes about 56, uh, $54,000 a year, whatever it came to, $28 an hour.

Um, John, how much in taxes is taken out of their paychecks? You're probably down to somewhere in the 30,000s.

The woman has three kids.

I don't know if she's a single parent or not.

She's a top pastry chef over at the Waldorf Astoria.

She makes mid-50s, and a lot of you are saying, "Hey, that's more than some construction workers make.

I've got a college degree.

I'm not making $27 an hour." So she got a lot of blowback on the text line afterwards, but I'll just read one of these messages.

That always happens.

You get a wave and then a response to the wave.

But 262 said, "My wife and I make $190,000 a year, and after taxes, insurance, college tuition, car insurance, car payments, 401(k), not much is left.

I could not imagine living on $25 an hour.

I'm at a point where we are talking about a career pivot to raise more income to have for the next generation.

America is very expensive to live a middle-class life." I was just saying 50,000 is not what it used to be.

Uh, that's, that's better than 40,000, but really, $50,000 is, is hard, uh, especially if you've got three kids.

I don't know what you think about that, Eric, this hotel workers strike.

Yeah, that doesn't sound like a lot of money, actually, 50,000 for a family.

Um, I don't...

What is the median income in the Chicago area, and what is the-

Uh, I was g- I was gonna say 48, but I don't...

I think it's more than that.

I think it, I think she's probably right at about the median.

I'll bet it's about 54.

I'll have Pete dial it up, but I'll bet it's around 54, 55, 56.

Oh, yeah, good, and by the way, just here's a couple of other comments.

We visited with one of the striking hotel workers a little while ago who makes about 56, uh, $54,000 a year, whatever it came to, $28 an hour.

Um, John, how much in taxes is taken out of their paychecks? You're probably down to somewhere in the 30,000s.

The woman has three kids.

I don't know if she's a single parent or not.

She's a top pastry chef over at the Waldorf Astoria.

She makes mid-50s, and a lot of you are saying, "Hey, that's more than some construction workers make.

I've got a college degree.

I'm not making $27 an hour." So she got a lot of blowback on the text line afterwards, but I'll just read one of these messages.

That always happens.

You get a wave and then a response to the wave.

But 262 said, "My wife and I make $190,000 a year, and after taxes, insurance, college tuition, car insurance, car payments, 401(k), not much is left.

I could not imagine living on $25 an hour.

I'm at a point where we are talking about a career pivot to raise more income to have for the next generation.

America is very expensive to live a middle-class life." I was just saying 50,000 is not what it used to be.

Uh, that's, that's better than 40,000, but really, $50,000 is, is hard, uh, especially if you've got three kids.

I don't know what you think about that, Eric, this hotel workers strike.

Yeah, that doesn't sound like a lot of money, actually, 50,000 for a family.

Um, I don't...

What is the median income in the Chicago area, and what is the-

Uh, I was g- I was gonna say 48, but I don't...

I think it's more than that.

I think it, I think she's probably right at about the median.

I'll bet it's about 54.

I'll have Pete dial it up, but I'll bet it's around 54, 55, 56.