rsm
Well-known member
People also ask
Does anyone still pay $7.25 an hour?
Currently, 34 states, territories and districts have minimum wages above the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour. Five states have not adopted a state minimum wage: Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina and Tennessee. Two states, Georgia and Wyoming, have a minimum wage below $7.25 per hour.Jul 1, 2024
State Minimum Wages
Good. As it should be. It's called minimum wage for a reason. It's not called living wage for that same reason
MadAsAHatter
Well-known member
I'm all for people making as much money as they can and getting paid what they are worth. That said, when you look at the numbers it highlights how absurd wanting $20/hr minimum wage really is.
I pulled for a couple of charts to find the minimum wage each time it was increased and what it would be adjusted for inflation. The chart also includes every 5 years from 2010-Present to have some data points from the last 15 years where there was no adjustment. I put all that in a quick excel chart and calculated the average minimum wage adjusted for inflation using 3 specific data sets.
Set 1 = Min. Wage from beginning to when it was at a peak time (1938-1981)
Set 2 = Min Wage from beginning to the last time it was adjusted (1938-2009)
Set 3 = Average of all (1938-2024)
Some articles and charts I came across used a trend line to justify raising minimum wage to $20/hr, but that paints a false picture. You can see from the chart below that over a 20 year period when it was at it's highest, it fluctuated between just over $11/hr and just under $12/hr. The trend line would suggest that increasing minimum wage should be a salary increase akin to getting a raise versus a compensation for inflation. Data actually shows that increases in minimum wage were adjustments for inflation, not increase in salary. Historically it averages a little under $10/hr with a high of $12.50/hr and low of $4.74/hr.
When you account for inflation $7.25/hr is a little low by comparison, but not by a significant amount. Nothing in the data suggests minimum wage should be $17-$20/hr. To keep up with historical averages of minimum wage, lets go ahead and round up to $10/hr and call it a day.
And let's not forget one of the intentions of minimum wage was for a single person to maintain a minimum quality of living; you can afford basic food and shelter. It was never meant so that someone could buy a luxury home in the ritzy part of the city, have 32 TV subscriptions, a new iPhone every year, and take a $20,000 vacation every 6 months.
I pulled for a couple of charts to find the minimum wage each time it was increased and what it would be adjusted for inflation. The chart also includes every 5 years from 2010-Present to have some data points from the last 15 years where there was no adjustment. I put all that in a quick excel chart and calculated the average minimum wage adjusted for inflation using 3 specific data sets.
Set 1 = Min. Wage from beginning to when it was at a peak time (1938-1981)
Set 2 = Min Wage from beginning to the last time it was adjusted (1938-2009)
Set 3 = Average of all (1938-2024)
Some articles and charts I came across used a trend line to justify raising minimum wage to $20/hr, but that paints a false picture. You can see from the chart below that over a 20 year period when it was at it's highest, it fluctuated between just over $11/hr and just under $12/hr. The trend line would suggest that increasing minimum wage should be a salary increase akin to getting a raise versus a compensation for inflation. Data actually shows that increases in minimum wage were adjustments for inflation, not increase in salary. Historically it averages a little under $10/hr with a high of $12.50/hr and low of $4.74/hr.
When you account for inflation $7.25/hr is a little low by comparison, but not by a significant amount. Nothing in the data suggests minimum wage should be $17-$20/hr. To keep up with historical averages of minimum wage, lets go ahead and round up to $10/hr and call it a day.
And let's not forget one of the intentions of minimum wage was for a single person to maintain a minimum quality of living; you can afford basic food and shelter. It was never meant so that someone could buy a luxury home in the ritzy part of the city, have 32 TV subscriptions, a new iPhone every year, and take a $20,000 vacation every 6 months.
shar-vell Dan
Well-known member
Actuary tables don't mean shit w/ $4 a gal gas & $200 a week groceries cuz its different wherever you live.
Floyd Eye
Well-known member
My groceries, for just me and my wife, are over $200/week. That and $4/gallon gas is a direct result of your party being in power.
