>The Fight for $15 movement came from expensive cities, and it might be the right policy for those places. But it would severely distort and crush lower-cost ci

>The Fight for $15 movement came from expensive cities, and it might be the right policy for those places. But it would severely distort and crush lower-cost cities and states. The right policy for San Francisco isn't necessarily right for Birmingham. Your point is a valid one. At the same time, if you look at how these numbers actually play out in reality, $15/hour (assuming 40 hours/week -- certainly not a given and 50 weeks per year) works out to $30,000/annum. Figure in the 12%[0] Federal income tax plus the 6.25% FICA (Social Security/Medicare) withholding and that $30,000/annum nets (not including state and local income taxes, which vary) to ~$25,000/annum. Assuming (a big assumption) no income tax at the state/local levels, that leaves ~25,000/annum at $15/hour, 40 hours/week. This works out to ~$2100/month for a single earner. Given that rent, food cost, transportation requirements, etc. vary widely across various localities, it's difficult to determine how well folks can get by on that amount of money. The median rent in the US[1] is ~$1000/month. That represents ~50% of net income (again, assuming zero state/local income tax. Which doesn't bode well for those making $15/hour, given that many don't get 40 hours/week. Even in the places with the least expensive rent[2], that's still ~25% of income. That's often considered an appropriate level of housing cost relative to income. What's more, given that the median income in the US is more than twice as high[3] as 40 hours/week at $15/hour, a $15 minimum wage wouldn't put any upward pressure on median income (how relevant such an eventuality might be is arguable, but is interesting to note). So yes, a national $15/hour minimum wage isn't a panacea. Those living in the poorest/cheapest places could likely live pretty well on $15/hour (again, assuming 40 hours/week, 50 weeks/year -- which doesn't apply to many). Contrariwise, those who live in places with costs around the median for the US would likely struggle with $15/hour, and those living in the most expensive places would likely not be able to live on just one full-time job. So yes, $15/hour nationally is a bad idea. In fact, it should be significantly higher in places that are more expensive. [0]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Income_tax_in_the_United_States#Marginal_tax_rates_for_2019 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Income_tax_in_the_United_State... [1]https://www.deptofnumbers.com/rent/us/ https://www.deptofnumbers.com/rent/us/ [2]https://dailyhive.com/mapped/10-cheapest-cities-rent-usa https://dailyhive.com/mapped/10-cheapest-cities-rent-usa [3]https://www.census.gov/library/stories/2019/09/us-median-household-income-up-in-2018-from-2017.html https://www.census.gov/library/stories/2019/09/us-median-hou... [Edit: Fix spacing typos]