Math That Doesn’t Add Up

I’ve Been Thinking… About the Math That Doesn’t Add Up

I used to think I’d “made it.”

It felt like proof that hard work eventually pays off — until I realized “making it” was just a nicer way of saying “barely keeping up.”

The last time I broke six figures in a year, I had three jobs. That wasn’t ambition — that was exhaustion with a better wardrobe.

Somewhere along the way, we started calling survival a success story.

1. The Living Wage Gap in Oklahoma

According to MIT’s Living Wage Calculator, a single adult in Oklahoma needs roughly $42,000 a year (≈ $20–$21/hr) in 2025 just to cover basic living expenses.

Meanwhile, Oklahoma’s minimum wage remains $7.25/hr — that’s less than $15,100/year working full-time.

Housing data shows that to afford a one-bedroom rental in Oklahoma, a worker needs about $15.90/hr — and $19.91/hr for a two-bedroom.

Those numbers make one thing clear: the cost of living and the reality of wages no longer match.

2. The Backbone Jobs That Don’t Pay Enough

While I was earning “decent” money, I knew plenty of people working twice as hard for half as much.

Retail. Hospitality. Maintenance. Cleaning. All essential work.

In the Oklahoma City metro:
• Food preparation & serving roles average $14.24/hr
• Building & grounds cleaning & maintenance roles average $16.08/hr

That’s about $28K–$33K/year — far below a living wage.

And there are far more Walmart employees in Oklahoma than lawyers and doctors combined. Yet we still pretend their labor isn’t what keeps the rest of us comfortable.

If a job has to exist for society to function, it should pay enough to live. That should be the baseline. Everything else — specialized or credentialed — should build from there.

Instead, we’ve flipped it. We call these jobs “unskilled,” but they require patience, stamina, and humility most executives don’t have.

For perspective: the average Oklahoman earns $35,000 a year.
Harold Hamm, one of our billionaires, is worth over $27 billion.
If he and I averaged our incomes, we’d both still be billionaires.

That’s how warped the math has become.

3. Welfare, Corporate Subsidies & Who’s Paying

Here’s where the system cracks open.

Workers earning low wages often rely on public assistance — food stamps, Medicaid, housing aid.
Meanwhile, corporations receive tax breaks, subsidies, and incentives funded by those same taxpayers.

In Oklahoma, corporate subsidies total at least $2.7 billion (across 951 awards).
We’re among the highest in subsidy-to-GDP ratio — meaning we give away huge corporate incentives relative to our total economy.

So the loop looks like this:

• Employees in low-wage jobs struggle to cover basics → they need public aid
• Corporations pay low wages and receive subsidies → reducing their taxes
• The “middle class” funds the difference — until their own stability cracks

We’re not looking at a welfare problem. We’re looking at a wage problem disguised as charity.

3½. The People Who Fall Through the Cracks

And then there’s another layer — the people who don’t qualify for help at all.

The ones working the jobs no one wants: long hours in fields, kitchens, construction sites, and warehouses.

Many are immigrants — some documented, some not — doing the hardest work for the lowest pay.

They can’t access most assistance programs. They can’t risk asking for help. And yet, they’re the invisible backbone of the system.

If they stopped showing up tomorrow, half the country would stop running by lunchtime.

They’re not underpaid — they’re erased.

4. The “Middle Class” Illusion

I thought I was secure once. But the deeper I looked, the more I saw that security was conditional.

The middle class isn’t really a class anymore; it’s a balancing act.

People earning “good money” are still one layoff, one rent hike, one medical bill away from panic.

When the baseline jobs pay so little, even “middle income” becomes precarious.
The whole structure depends on everyone below you staying exactly where they are.

5. Policy & Moral Option Points

So what could shift things toward fairness?

• Raise the state (or local) minimum wage toward $15–$20/hr, depending on family size.
• Incentivize businesses to pay enough so employees don’t need welfare.
• Reduce corporate subsidies unless companies guarantee livable wages.
• Redefine “essential work” to include fair compensation — not just recognition.

Because if the system only works when millions struggle, it’s not working.

6. My Takeaway

Maybe the problem isn’t welfare.
Maybe the problem is wages.

Because if a full-time job doesn’t let you live, then welfare isn’t a safety net — it’s the patch holding up a system that refuses to pay what survival costs.

I’ve been thinking…

Maybe the real American dream isn’t owning a house or hitting six figures.
Maybe it’s just finally being paid what we’re worth — no matter what kind of work that is.

Stay curious. Stay human. And always, be kind.