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Minimum wage in 1980 could afford you about 6 big macs per hour; in 2022 that number fell to less than 1 big mac per hour; in the same timeframe, worker product

by mouse_ 2y ago

Minimum wage in 1980 could afford you about 6 big macs per hour; in 2022 that number fell to less than 1 big mac per hour; in the same timeframe, worker productivity has gone up multiple times over. We are being pillaged, and headlines like this seem to be a subtle justification that we should not worry about it too much. The past is no place to live; when I see atrocity happening when and where I live, I am going to talk about it, and I am going to be thinking about ways we can improve or offset it. Headline is in poor taste. Yes I fucking love science and all that but it is unproductive and insulting to all those in our current year struggling with inhumane living conditions and progressively decreasing opportunities.

lotsofpulp 2y ago
The statutory US federal minimum wage does not reflect actual labor prices. A more useful measure of comparison would be changes in 1st, 2nd, 3rd, etc decile/quantile of annual and hourly wages. Also, the US is so big and varied in terms of cost of living, that there would need to be an adjustment to account for that. Or just compare within specific metros over a time period.
daedrdev 2y ago
Currently fewer than 1% of people in the US make the federal minimum wage.
vehemenz 2y ago
I live in an average area of the midwest, and every McDonald's starts at $14/hr. That's two Big Macs after tax, or three if you use the app.
SoftTalker 2y ago
Big macs were never that cheap. Minimum wage in the early 1980s was $3.35/hr and unlike today, McDonald's actually had people standing in line to apply for jobs at that wage. I was one of them. A Big Mac at that time was around $1.00 although the "value combo" concept had emerged so most people didn't buy them individually. McDonald's today pays $15/hr and has trouble hiring. They couldn't hire anyone if they just offered minimum wage. A Big Mac is around $5.00 so the ratio is broadly the same.

by mouse_ 2y ago

lotsofpulp 2y ago

The statutory US federal minimum wage does not reflect actual labor prices. A more useful measure of comparison would be changes in 1st, 2nd, 3rd, etc decile/quantile of annual and hourly wages. Also, the US is so big and varied in terms of cost of living, that there would need to be an adjustment to account for that. Or just compare within specific metros over a time period.

daedrdev 2y ago

Currently fewer than 1% of people in the US make the federal minimum wage.

vehemenz 2y ago

I live in an average area of the midwest, and every McDonald's starts at $14/hr. That's two Big Macs after tax, or three if you use the app.

SoftTalker 2y ago

Big macs were never that cheap. Minimum wage in the early 1980s was $3.35/hr and unlike today, McDonald's actually had people standing in line to apply for jobs at that wage. I was one of them. A Big Mac at that time was around $1.00 although the "value combo" concept had emerged so most people didn't buy them individually. McDonald's today pays $15/hr and has trouble hiring. They couldn't hire anyone if they just offered minimum wage. A Big Mac is around $5.00 so the ratio is broadly the same.