A recent article in CNBC highlights the benefits of a livable wage highlights the need for broadband and the need for affordable broadband…

“People are not surviving on the minimum wage,” said Amy Glasmeier, a professor of economic geography and regional planning at MIT, who created a database of regional living wages in 2004 and updates it annually.

Affording everyday items can be a challenge. For example, having a cell phone and broadband internet access — tightly linked to one’s ability to get and hold a job in the digital age — costs about $120 a month, Glasmeier said. That’s almost 10% of a low-wage earner’s budget.

The following chart shows the current minimum wage versus livable wage by state. A single adult making Minnesota minimum wage would spend almost exactly 10 percent of her check on broadband/phone at $120/month.