The Wage Is Too Damn Low

Brian Chernick May 21, 2015

The federal minimum wage peaked in 1968… References and Footnotes“Minimum wage since 1938,” CNN Money, 2013, http://money.cnn.com/interactive/economy/minimum-wage-since-1938/[/ref] If you adjust for inflation that's an impressive $10.79. However, the current federal minimum wage sits at $7.25 – thirty-two percent less than it was forty-seven years ago. And while it has increased twenty-one percent since 1990, so has the cost of living – by sixty-seven percent. “Overworked America: 12 Charts That Will Make Your Blood Boil,” Mother Jones, July/August 2011, http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2011/06/speedup-americans-working-harder-charts[/ref] Nineteen million U.S. workers currently earn at or below the federal minimum wage, with nearly half of them being over twenty-four years old. “5 Facts about the Minimum Wage,” Pew Research, December 2013 http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2013/12/04/5-facts-about-the-minimum-wage/ ↩ “Studies Look at What Happened when Cities Raised Minimum Wage,” The Seattle Times, March 2014, http://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/studies-look-at-what-happened-when-cities-raised-minimum-wage/ ↩ “The Great Decoupling of the US Economy,” Andrew McAfee, December 2012, http://andrewmcafee.org/2012/12/the-great-decoupling-of-the-us-economy/ ↩“As Cities Raise Their Minimum Wage, Where's the Economic Collapse the Right Predicted?” Mother Jones, April 2015, http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2015/04/economic-collapse-prediction-minimum-wage-raise ↩ Lynn Thompson, Seattle Times, March 12, 2014, accessed May 21, 2015, http://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/studies-look-at-what-happened-when-cities-raised-minimum-wage/. ↩ “Will a Higher Minimum Wage Close a Beloved Bookstore?” The New Yorker, February 2015, http://www.newyorker.com/business/currency/minimum-wage-dilemma-san-francisco ↩“Do Small Businesses Deserve Exemptions From the Minimum Wage?” Mother Jones, May 2015 http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2015/05/small-businesses-exemptions-minimum-wage ↩ “Here's How America's Minimum Wage Stacks Up Against Countries Like India, Russia, Greece, And France” Business Insider, August 2013, http://www.businessinsider.com/a-look-at-minimum-wages-around-the-world-2013-8 ↩ “Marco Rubio says He Opposes Minimum Wage Laws. What About the Other GOP 2016 Hopefuls?” Daily Kos, February 2013, http://www.dailykos.com/story/2013/02/14/1187136/-Marco-Rubio-says-he-opposes-minimum-wage-laws-What-about-the-other-GOP-2016-hopefuls ↩ “Jeb Bush Calls For The Elimination Of The Federal Minimum Wage,” Think Progress, March 2015 http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2015/03/17/3634877/jeb-bush-minimum-wage/ ↩“Sen. Cruz: Minimum Wage Hike Would Cost Jobs for Young People, Hispanics, African Americans” CNS News, February 2013, http://cnsnews.com/news/article/sen-cruz-minimum-wage-hike-would-cost-jobs-young-people-hispanics-african-americans ↩“Fact Sheet #32: Youth Minimum Wage - Fair Labor Standards Act,” U.S. Department of Labor, July 2008, http://www.dol.gov/whd/regs/compliance/whdfs32.pdf ↩