Pulling a Slater

Update: How to help the JetBlue flight attendant: This escape chute rebeldeserves a break

Slater was charged with criminal mischief and reckless endangerment.
Photo by Theodorakis/News
Photo via Myspace

The Washington Post stole my headline. (Or, maybe great minds like mine and Jonathan Capehart's just think alike).

When I heard that JetBlue flight attendant Steven Slater took to his airplane's PA system to announce: "To the fucking asshole who told me to fuck off, it's been a good 28 years ... I've had it. That's it,” grabbed a couple of roadies and SLID off the plane via the inflatable emergency slide, I said the man deserved a slow clap.

Unfortunately for him, and for those, like me, for whom he has become a personal hero, he's facing seven years for his antics on the Pittsburgh to JFK flight. Slater was reacting to a passenger who he warned to take a seat after the passenger started digging around the overhead bin just after landing. The passenger opted instead to direct an expletive at Slater and refused to apologize. This all after the passenger allegedly struck him before takeoff with the overhead compartment door. (There have been contradictory reports about the passenger's gender. Either way, it's an asshole).

Slater was arrested when he got home to Queens (he ran across the tarmac, hopped in his car and drove there) on charges of reckless endangerment, trespassing and criminal mischief. Our real-life Peter Gibbons has been granted bail (but hasn't posted the $2,500 needed to get out yet) and although we doubt he's welcome back at JetBlue, we see an illustrious career ahead of him as a self-help guru.

Whether the justice system will be merciful remains to be seen, but Slater's certainly got public opinion on his side. He's already a public figure on Facebook with just under 20,000 fans (and counting), a Wikipedia page and a T-shirt.

We're actually amazed we can't find somewhere online to donate to his legal defense fund. Slater's got a court-appointed lawyer and can't seem to afford bail. So here's the official call: Make checks out to "Save Slater" and send 'em to Howard Turman, Legal Aid Society, 120-46 Queens Blvd, Kew Gardens, NY 11415-1204.

Update: An unofficial donation page has been created. The founder contacted CultureMap and said he's working to get an official endorsement from Slater (whom he doesn't know personally) and his lawyer. Donations are via PayPal at your own risk!

Meet ~~the man~~ ~~the myth~~ the legend:

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income analysis

Texas families need to make this much money for one parent to stay home

Photo by CDC on Unsplash

With costs to raise a child soaring over $20,000 a year in Texas, some households might decide to have one parent work while the other stays at home to raise their child.

As the cost of raising a child balloons in major cities like Houston, many families are weighing the choice between paying for child care or having one parent stay home full-time.

A recent analysis from SmartAsset determined the minimum income one parent needs to earn to support their partner staying at home to raise one child in all 50 states. In Texas — not just Houston — that amount is just under $75,000.

The study used the MIT Living Wage Calculator to compare the annual living wages needed for a household with two working adults and one child, and a household with one working adult, a stay-at-home parent, and one child. The study also calculated how much it would cost to raise a child with two working parents based on factors such as "food, housing, childcare, healthcare, transportation, incremental income taxes and other necessities."

A Texas household with one working parent would need to earn $74,734 a year to support a stay-at-home partner and a child, the report found. If two parents worked in the household, necessitating some additional costs like childcare and transportation, it would require an additional $10,504 in annual income to raise their child.

SmartAsset said the cost to raise a child in Texas in a two-working-parent household adds up to $23,587. Raising a child in Houston, however, is somewhat more affordable. A separate SmartAsset study from June 2025 determined it costs $21,868 to raise a child in the Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands metro.

In the report's ranking of states with the highest minimum income needed to support a family with one working adult, a stay-at-home parent, and one child, Texas ranked 32nd on the list.

In other states like Massachusetts, where raising a child can cost more than $40,000 a year, the report acknowledges ways families are working to reduce any financial burdens.

"This often includes considerations around who’s going to work in the household, and whether young children will require paid daycare services while parents are occupied," the report said. "With tradeoffs abound, many parents might seek to understand the minimum income needed to keep the family afloat while allowing the other parent to stay home to raise a young child."

The top 10 states with the lowest minimum income threshold to support a three-person family on one income are:

West Virginia – $68,099
Arkansas – $68,141
Mississippi – $70,242
Kentucky – $70,408
North Dakota – $70,949
Oklahoma – $71,718
Ohio – $72,114
South Dakota – $72,218
Alabama – $72,238
Nebraska – $72,966

texas income smartasset family