> This is more like “optimal wage to live alone in my own apartment with a car.”

An appartment and a car aren't exactly luxury goods. Cars are often needed to work, and well, having a roof over your head is usually required for a decent living.

Sure, if you fancy living in a cardboard box located next to your work, your living standards are going to be much easier to attain.

$700/month on car+gas+insurance is certainly pretty cushy. This is a luxury for many people I know.

Their cost estimates are much higher than what’s required to live comfortably and save for a rainy day.

This is such a US centric take.

Because the calculator is an US-only calculator.

It's a Living Wage Calculator for US States!

MIT is a school in the US.

where very few (relatively) people commute by car

The website is US-specific, so....

Dell me you didn’t click the link without… ah fuck it who cares, almost nobody around here does.