Defining “Living Wage”
This white paper consolidates prior analysis on the fiscal impact of implementing a standardized national livable wage, scaling the Play the Planet (PTP) cost-of-living reduction model nationwide, and reversing the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) provisions for corporations and high-income earners.
The report examines projected reductions in social safety net spending and increases in federal tax receipts.
1. Baseline Livable Wage Estimate A single national livable wage benchmark is set at approximately $28/hour (~$58,000/year for full-time work) before cost-of-living adjustments. This value reflects:
– Ineligibility thresholds for public assistance
– Inflation- and productivity-adjusted minimum wage
– Parity with 1960 home affordability in terms of hours worked State-level adjustments would be based on Bureau of Economic Analysis Regional Price Parities (RPP).
2. Safety Net Reduction from Livable Wage Alone Nationwide implementation could reduce caseloads for programs such as SNAP, ACA subsidies, and Medicaid (non-disabled adult population). Estimated impact:
- Lower bound: 10–15% reduction in federal means-tested spending (~$160–$240B/year)
- Upper bound: 20–25% reduction (~$320–$400B/year)
3. Additional Impact from Play the Planet (PTP) PTP initiatives—barter for childcare, sweat-equity
housing with CEB technology, and AI-driven food security— would further reduce living costs and safety net dependency. Modeled impacts: – Housing costs reduced by 40–60% – SNAP demand lowered through community food production – Childcare offset via service barter networks Estimated additional savings:
– Lower bound: +10% over wage-only scenario
– Upper bound: +25% over wage-only scenario
4. Combined Safety Net Reduction Livable Wage + PTP combined effects:
– Lower bound: ~25% total reduction (~$375B/year)
– Upper bound: ~55% total reduction (~$990B/year)
These figures exclude the Earned Income Credit (EIC), which is retained to support larger families.
5. Federal Tax Revenue Impacts Livable Wage effects: Higher taxable wages generate $52–$85B/year in new federal income tax receipts. Economic multiplier effects: Additional consumer spending increases corporate and sales tax receipts, yielding +$40–$65B/year in federal revenue.
Reversing TCJA provisions: Repealing 2017 cuts for corporations/high-income earners adds ~$160B/year.
PTP contributions: Reduced living costs and increased disposable income generate +$25–$40B/year in new federal tax receipts. Total federal revenue increase:
– Lower bound: $277B/year
– Upper bound: $350B/year
6. State and Local Revenue State and local governments would also benefit from increased income, sales, and property tax bases, producing an estimated $75–$110B/year in additional receipts nationwide.
What this means for government
The combination of a national livable wage, PTP’s targeted cost-of-living reductions, and reversal of the TCJA provisions could simultaneously reduce safety net spending by $375B–$990B/year and increase federal tax receipts by $277B–$350B/year.
Including state and local gains, the total public-sector fiscal benefit could exceed $450B–$1.3T annually. Such a policy framework offers a rare opportunity to improve economic security, reduce poverty, and strengthen public finances without raising baseline tax rates on lower- and middle-income households.
What this means for Play the Planet
Simply put, this helps us define the value of Gc in every state in the Union, and by drawing on a couple of additional publicly available datasets, everywhere in the world (because currencies can be exchanged, pretty much every corner of planet earth has a cost of living index. So, we can get good, reliable data for anywhere. Everywhere. We’ll do that when we need to but right now, PtP only exists in one place in an off-the-beaten track of the USA, so – for the sake of speed, we left connecting to global datasets off but it won’t be difficult to add.
For now, since 1Gc = 1USD and we can poll for state level cost of living adjustments, we can arrive at a floating valuation for the Gc we hand out as rewards for completing Act of Service Quests.