The union times., 1948-02-21
Even $75 Pay Provides Onlv Minimum Base
But The Average Factory Worker Now Makes
 Only $51 A Week

BERKELEY, Calf = CPD A typical workers family in these high cost of living days needs at least $75 week just to get along, according to the annual family budget released here by the Heller Committee.
 Millions of American workers do not even come up to the modest standards set by the Uni versity of California committee, since latest U. s. Bureau of Labor Statistics figures report the average manufacturing wage at S5l a week.
 MODEST BUDGET
 Prices have advanced consider ably since September I947, the period on which the committees budget is based, leaving workers even more Outdistanced by rising living costs than the budget indi- cates.
 Based on the needs of typical American family of four, a man, wife, boy of l3 and girl of 8, the budget is the sum of those goods and services considered necessary to healthful and reasonably com fOrtable living.''
 Modesty of the budget is shown by q hreo 1IdO11,r, of +La fooJ o1o4I,:.,o- o..J housing expenses of the family. The $2327 food allotment for week in- cludes Ia ID. of butter, ID. of o1eo- margarine, 4 ID. of bacon and total expenditure of $527 for meat and fish. The man and school children take their lunch from home and guests are infrequent, since only $39.90 year is budgeted for feeding them.
 TOO MODEST
 The man can buy one $3484 over coat every six years, bathrobe every eight years and a $3780 suit every two years. His year-round wardrobe includes two pair of overalls, two shirts, three cotton work shirts, one pair of rayon socks, eight pair of cot ton socks, one pair of street shoes and one pair of work shoes. He can have his overcoat cleaned every two years and have his shoes fixed twice a year.
 The wife can buy a fur trimmed winter coat for $5405 every three years, bathrobe every three years and a handbag for $261 every two years. She Is allowed one "good' $10.90 rayon dress a year, two cotton house dresses, 11a slips and six pairs of stockings. She can buy one lipstick and one box of face powder each year. Clothing allotments for the children are equally modest, with the heaviest expenditures for shoes.
 Estimated rent is $37 a month for five rooms and a garage to house a sedan, which can be traded in for a new car every six years. Total cost of medical and dental care is $264.l5. No allowance is. made for emergency illnesses and the budget is adequate for average illnesses only if the family is cOv- cred by a group health plan.
 Other budgeted costs include a neighborhood movie twice a month, cheap excursions instead of vaca- ton, one morning newspaper, $4.25 a year on magazines, $37.50 year on union dues and $23.50 a year for church and charity.
 Comparing this budget to its pre- war budget, the Heller Committee estimates a 7O% increase in the cost of living for the wage earner. 'FOOd showed the greatest cost in- crease of any mjaOr group of items," it said, reporting that food purchased for cooking at home had more than doubled in price since the l939-4l period and cost of lunches bought in restaurants had gone up even more. Clothing and house furnishings increased about 5%o, medical and dental costs in- creased 57%, recreation costs went up 5O% and other miscellaneous items showed all types of price changes.
 "The only items of any. great inn portance in the average fami1y's bud get that had failed to increase pain fully" it reported, "were controlled rents, gas and electricity rates, life insurance orefni11uS and corforeO D