Affordability in Hours (MSH): A Time-Indexed Minimum Wage and an Essential Hours Credit

Project page: https://www.thepricer.org/msh · Preprint: (add DOI when live)

Coverage: 2000–2025 · Units: hours/month and $/hour
Authors: Alec Pow¹; Lora Stonden²
¹ ThePricer Media, LLC · ² Independent Researcher

What is this?

We measure Monthly Survival Hours (MSH)—the paid work time required to buy a fixed essentials basket. Post-COVID, MSH rose sharply, especially for renters. We propose a Time-Indexed Minimum Wage (TIMW) with a ≤5% glide and an Essential Hours Tax Credit (EHTC) that backstops low-wage cohorts.

Headline results

• D3 renters: 117.4h (2019) → 175.7h (2022); 2025 at 157.7h.
• Renter’s Surcharge (2025): 3.8–8.7 hours across six metros.
• TIMW back-test: targeting 120 h/mo with a ≤5% semiannual glide stabilizes MSH through the shock.

Paper & figures

• 📄 PDF: Affordability_in_Hours_2025_v1.pdf
• 🖼️ Figures: see /figures

Reproduce (coming soon)

• /data/contracts: minimal data contracts (CPI items, CPS/OEWS pulls, units, frequency).
• /code: notebooks to rebuild the figures.

Cite as

Pow, A., & Stonden, L. (2025). Affordability in Hours: A Time-Indexed Minimum Wage and an Essential Hours Credit. Preprint.
DOI: TBD

License

• Code: MIT (LICENSE)
• Text & Figures: CC BY 4.0 (LICENSE-CC-BY-4.0.txt)