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Wasn't the original minimum wage meant to support a family on one income? Is that really a realistic goal in a modern two worker family setting?

bern4444 5y ago
I think this is looking at the situation a bit backwards. Most families have both parents working so they can afford to live at the same level that a family in the past could afford with one working parent. If minimum wage was meant to support a family where only one adult is working then we would in fact need to double it to really make it have the same effect it did in the past. I'm not saying we should do this, just pointing out that raising the min wage is absolutely a worthwhile goal and so much value has been ripped away from the majority of Americans from inflation.
- thatguy0900 5y ago
  I definetly agree with raising it, it's basically entirely useless right now as it's so low awful jobs already pay more than it anyway. it just seems trying to make it entirely inflation adjusted is ignoring the reality of women entering the workforce. I think two people working full time on minimum wage should be able to afford a stable family though.
  - true_religion 5y ago
    Of those making the minimum wage or less, 62% are women and 38% are men. If we have to think about women in the workforce, then let’s start by considering that the majority of people working awful jobs for awful are women and that even if they leave those jobs they still have a wage gap inflicted upon them. The minimum wage is meant to help people by enforcing fairness, and in this case it will likely help women.
proc0 5y ago
I think it should have been written differently to begin with. I'm not a lawyer but they could probably target specific people to benefit from minimum wage (i.e. by age group), and/or have the minimum be a function of a number of factors. So minimum wage for a teenager with no kids is different than an adult with a family.

bern4444 5y ago

I think this is looking at the situation a bit backwards. Most families have both parents working so they can afford to live at the same level that a family in the past could afford with one working parent. If minimum wage was meant to support a family where only one adult is working then we would in fact need to double it to really make it have the same effect it did in the past. I'm not saying we should do this, just pointing out that raising the min wage is absolutely a worthwhile goal and so much value has been ripped away from the majority of Americans from inflation.

thatguy0900 5y ago
I definetly agree with raising it, it's basically entirely useless right now as it's so low awful jobs already pay more than it anyway. it just seems trying to make it entirely inflation adjusted is ignoring the reality of women entering the workforce. I think two people working full time on minimum wage should be able to afford a stable family though.
- true_religion 5y ago
  Of those making the minimum wage or less, 62% are women and 38% are men. If we have to think about women in the workforce, then let’s start by considering that the majority of people working awful jobs for awful are women and that even if they leave those jobs they still have a wage gap inflicted upon them. The minimum wage is meant to help people by enforcing fairness, and in this case it will likely help women.

proc0 5y ago

I think it should have been written differently to begin with. I'm not a lawyer but they could probably target specific people to benefit from minimum wage (i.e. by age group), and/or have the minimum be a function of a number of factors. So minimum wage for a teenager with no kids is different than an adult with a family.