The minimum wage is at least seven times greater than it was in 1956, but it's actually worth slightly less. In fact, the minimum wage was worth the greatest amount back in 1968 at a measly $1.60 an hour. This sounds absolutely absurd, doesn't it? I didn't even believe it until I found
five different sources all telling me the same thing. According to
this article from the Huffington Post, an individual working full time would need to make $11.06 an hour to remain at or above the poverty line for a family of four. As I know all too well, $7.25 is the minimum wage and individuals under 18 working a seasonal job can make as little as $5 an hour, a laughably small amount for anyone attempting to help support their family or save for college (but that's an entirely different fish to fry). Additionally, the article states that if minimum wage reflected worker productivity, minimum wage could be as much as $21.72. Personally, I wouldn't know what to do with that kind of cashflow.
People that make minimum wage are becoming more and more aware of this and asking congress to do something about it. But are they? No. Obama mentioned it in his state of the union address and has been trying as hard as he can to get them to do something,
anything.
But they won't. At this point Obama is pleading to Americans, asking them to send letters to their GOP representatives. He wants everyone making at least "ten-ten." It's catchy but not the necessary $11.06. While I respect what Obama is trying to do, will that really help? Sure I'd love a $2 raise, but if everyone got a raise of that much it would have to affect inflation. It certainly wouldn't be a post-war-Germany-playing-with-bundles-of-money-because-it's-cheaper-than-toys level of inflation, but without change at other levels, Americans would certainly lose buying power, if my math is correct. I'm no expert on economics, but it would make so much more sense to put restrictions on the top earners' paychecks, say they can only make x% of what the lowest paid employee makes. As of 2011 that amount was typically
230 times greater. Hmmm
230*7.25=$1667.50 per hour. And who does the real labor? That's disgusting.
People that make minimum wage are becoming more and more aware of this and asking congress to do something about it. But are they? No. Obama mentioned it in his state of the union address and has been trying as hard as he can to get them to do something, anything. But they won't. At this point Obama is pleading to Americans, asking them to send letters to their GOP representatives. He wants everyone making at least "ten-ten." It's catchy but not the necessary $11.06. While I respect what Obama is trying to do, will that really help? Sure I'd love a $2 raise, but if everyone got a raise of that much it would have to affect inflation. It certainly wouldn't be a post-war-Germany-playing-with-bundles-of-money-because-it's-cheaper-than-toys level of inflation, but without change at other levels, Americans would certainly lose buying power, if my math is correct. I'm no expert on economics, but it would make so much more sense to put restrictions on the top earners' paychecks, say they can only make x% of what the lowest paid employee makes. As of 2011 that amount was typically 230 times greater. Hmmm 230*7.25=$1667.50 per hour. And who does the real labor? That's disgusting.
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