3 ms·
> The minimum wage is an old rally flag, but it affects the bottom 1% I was skeptical when you suggested that it was that small, but the most recent Pew study
by labster 9y ago
> The minimum wage is an old rally flag, but it affects the bottom 1%
I was skeptical when you suggested that it was that small, but the most recent Pew study says that only 2% of workers earn the federal minimum wage in the U.S. [1] But they go on to point out that 30% of American workers earn "near-minimum wage" i.e. ≤ $10.10/h. If minimum wage were increased to $9/h, that would probably affect the earnings of nearly all of those people.
[1]: http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2014/09/08/who-makes-minimum-wage/ http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2014/09/08/who-makes-mi...
- AnthonyMouse 9y agoThat is missing the point. Even assuming all of them went from $15K/year to $19K/year, that doesn't bring back the middle class. It's not enough to get the people at the 5th percentile to where the people at the 25th percentile are. We need to get the people at the 25th percentile to where the people at the 50th percentile are now, and the people at the 50th percentile to where the people at the 75th percentile are now etc. Trying to lift up only the bottom is what hollows out the middle. We need to lift up the middle too.