3 ms·

This is absolute nonsense

Alupis 4y ago
How can you be so sure? Minimum wage was introduced in 1938 at $0.25 per hour[1], which would be about $5.06 per hour when adjusted for inflation[2]. Today, federal minimum wage is $7.25[3] and majority states have minimum wages far higher than this. Adjusted for inflation, today's federal minimum wage is about 43% higher than it was in 1938. According to Wikipedia, 29 states and 40+ cities have minimum wages exceeding federal levels, which results in almost 90% of all minimum wage workers earning more than federal minimums with an average of $11.80[1]. This is a 133% increase in minimum wage since 1938 on the average - and cost of living is certainly not even remotely similar across the country. Originally, minimum wage was intended for low-skill/no-skill jobs, and expected folks would progress upward into skilled labor. It's a problem that folks no longer are doing this... there should not be 58 year old's manning the cash register at the local gas station. They've had 58 years to develop some sort of marketable skill, yet they haven't? All they can do is scan barcodes and hand out receipts? That's a problem... Fund community colleges, free 2 years or associate degrees, free 2 years of vocational/technical school... those are solutions, not temporary fixes like raising minimum wage every few years. Without a doubt, if we raised minimum wage to $25 today, we would be discussing $30 or more in a few years. We have the past 84 years of these exact debates to tell us that much at least. Just giving folks more money absolutely increases cost of living. We're literally seeing it right now in real time. We handed out thousands of dollars to nearly everyone and we're now seeing inflation at levels not seen since the 80's. This is economics 101 type stuff. Inflation and raising cost of living squeezes the very folks we're trying to help the most. High earners can afford to tighten their belt and eat out less often... but minimum wage earners living paycheck to paycheck can't cope with this sort of economy, and raising minimum wage just dooms them to experience it over and over and over again. Less band-aids, and more cures are required here... [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minimum_wage#United_States https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minimum_wage#United_States [2] https://www.bls.gov/data/inflation_calculator.htm https://www.bls.gov/data/inflation_calculator.htm [3] https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/minimum-wage https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/minimum-wage

How can you be so sure? Minimum wage was introduced in 1938 at $0.25 per hour[1], which would be about $5.06 per hour when adjusted for inflation[2]. Today, federal minimum wage is $7.25[3] and majority states have minimum wages far higher than this. Adjusted for inflation, today's federal minimum wage is about 43% higher than it was in 1938. According to Wikipedia, 29 states and 40+ cities have minimum wages exceeding federal levels, which results in almost 90% of all minimum wage workers earning more than federal minimums with an average of $11.80[1]. This is a 133% increase in minimum wage since 1938 on the average - and cost of living is certainly not even remotely similar across the country. Originally, minimum wage was intended for low-skill/no-skill jobs, and expected folks would progress upward into skilled labor. It's a problem that folks no longer are doing this... there should not be 58 year old's manning the cash register at the local gas station. They've had 58 years to develop some sort of marketable skill, yet they haven't? All they can do is scan barcodes and hand out receipts? That's a problem... Fund community colleges, free 2 years or associate degrees, free 2 years of vocational/technical school... those are solutions, not temporary fixes like raising minimum wage every few years. Without a doubt, if we raised minimum wage to $25 today, we would be discussing $30 or more in a few years. We have the past 84 years of these exact debates to tell us that much at least. Just giving folks more money absolutely increases cost of living. We're literally seeing it right now in real time. We handed out thousands of dollars to nearly everyone and we're now seeing inflation at levels not seen since the 80's. This is economics 101 type stuff. Inflation and raising cost of living squeezes the very folks we're trying to help the most. High earners can afford to tighten their belt and eat out less often... but minimum wage earners living paycheck to paycheck can't cope with this sort of economy, and raising minimum wage just dooms them to experience it over and over and over again. Less band-aids, and more cures are required here... [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minimum_wage#United_States https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minimum_wage#United_States [2] https://www.bls.gov/data/inflation_calculator.htm https://www.bls.gov/data/inflation_calculator.htm [3] https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/minimum-wage https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/minimum-wage