<prompt> Human: To preface this I made a new account just to make sure nothing could be connected to me if I say anything about Amazon that is not allowed.I am 18 years old and graduated high school this spring. I decided over the summer to take a part time job on top of reffing competitive youth soccer. I was wondering if someone could explain to me why people need the wages made higher by law after looking at my math below.I referee competitive youth soccer, basically picture travel soccer for anyone younger than 18. I make 30 a game on average not including tournaments. Tournaments I am paid 50-70 a game depending on age group I only do about 4 of these weekends a year so I am not counting it in the average. This job ends up giving me averaging me 190 per weekend for only 3 and a half hours per day including travel again not including tournaments because they are farther away and pay way more.TLDR: 190 Weekend PayI took a job at Amazon at the beginning of the summer as a sorter. I literally just have to move boxes onto the correct pallet and scan that they are there. The work environment is very chill as long as you do the basics, show up on time, sort 120 boxes per hour people literally never get called out even if they are only doing 80.This Job pays 12 an hour also is a very easy job and only required me To say I graduated high school, they never even checked my diploma. Prove I am a citizen of the United States Pass a drug testI picked up 6 shifts a week which are 4 hours base time per. Amazon does something called flex up flex down which basically means you might have to leave early or stay later by an hour. On average half the shifts end up being 5 hours the rest are 4s. This leads to me having 27 hours a week and I only have to work in the morning before any of my friends are partying at night or playing video games which means I have nothing to lose by working.TLDR: 320 a weekOverall TLDR: Total, these two jobs yield 510 for only 34 hours of work. Meaning if I did not just do this for the summer but year long I would be making 25,500. Amazon is so easy to get promoted at that all you have to do is work there for three months and then you get a 1.50 raise. I was literally told by a manager that if I stayed I could easily become a manager within a year raising my pay even more just because I have a decent work ethic.Question Part: So if I worked full time at Amazon out of high school without any raise or promotion I would make 26,000 just from that and not refereeing with room for advancement in position and pay. With Refereeing 36,000. I am curious why people think they need a living wage for free when working these easy as hell jobs ends up crossing the 40k barrier with just a little bit of hard work right out of high school after a year?I personally feel like people are lazy and do not want to work for their money. I have no issue working hard for money but I personally have a drive to work hard for even more money so I am going to college for a high paying and growing field from a high ranked State University to minimize cost. I think America is still the land of opportunity and if people still actually work hard and are dedicated they can make a life for themselves.  <response>: Theres kind of a lot to unpack here, but the basic thing is as a teenager, is that your expenses are super low.26-38 K seems like a lot when youre young, and relatively speaking it is. Its enough to live on just fine. But once you factor in things like healthcare, taxes you dont pay income tax until you hit 10k in earnings, retirement, children, etc.. it adds up. If youre just a healthy young adult, its not so bad, just not necessarily sustainable unless you plan on living like that forever.Also keep in mind that a major complaint with these types of jobs is stuff like the scheduling. Again, something you dont need to worry about when youre young, but matters more as your older. I cant speak for Amazon, but that scheduling is unusually flexibleTBH, the biggest 4 issues are children expensive and scheduling wise, retirement, healthcare, and housing.For example, for rent, if you live in the middle of nowhere, youre looking at something like 600mo. If you live in a big city? Closer to 1200. Thats already past the 30 rule for your hypothetical income- for renting.Healthcare costs will vary, but just as a reference, mine is 250mo although ACA subsidies help as a single young person.And of course, theres very little career growth prospects. You can get bumped up to a manager, but for most people thats about it. Childcare is a choice people make, if they cant afford it dont have sex or have an abortion. I think youre misunderstanding a bit here. For most people, livable wage means something close to a middle class lifestyle. Not will i starve to death or not. Not necessarily fancy, but able to buy a house, have kids, own a car, retire at a reasonable age, send their kids to college. Maybe a vacation every other year YMMV on this oneThats kind of their point. If you cant afford kids, its not really a livable wage. Kids do cost money, but they shouldnt be considered a luxury.I personally feel like people are lazy and do not want to work for their money. A living wage is by definition something you have to work for, since its a wage.Its not really free. Do you mean UBIuniversal basic income? Thats a completely different thing. 