Livable wage discussions are often also about inequality and the broad sharing of societal-level progress. I think one reason Americans have become less optimis

Livable wage discussions are often also about inequality and the broad sharing of societal-level progress. I think one reason Americans have become less optimistic about technology and progress is the benefits have not been shared as widely. Fixing minimum wage to productivity increases would help renew the social contract of people allowing (sometimes disruptive) innovation and progress. But sure. Let’s tie federal minimum wage to inflation and then do local cost-of-living adjustments, say make minimum wage equal to, say, three times the typical rent for a two bedroom apartment in the area. That way places that might really struggle with $21/hour minimum wage (like Wichita, Kansas) but have low housing cost would be able to maintain adequate employment levels and attract business investment. (It would also force NIMBY-heavy communities like San Jose, California actually have to pay a consequence for extreme housing costs in the form of higher wage costs for local low-skill services… Encouraging more housing to be built.)