It kind of does address the issue. Companies are historically paying their workers less well expecting a higher level of productivity. Filtering too much of the profit to the top or into financial systems and not to the workers. Minimum wage hasn’t kept pace with inflation. Workers now are paid less then they would have comparably been in the ’70s.

Smitty…sometimes your sarcasm adds nothing to the conversation

Turns out the minimum wage has been pretty much flat since 1950. It’s a little higher in the 60’s and 70’s, with a peak in 1968. But people who talk about how it’s declining are just wrong, whether it’s from deliberate cherrypicking or not.

Adjusted-for-inflation data available at

http://oregonstate.edu/instruct/anth484/minwage.html

So then I checked the federal poverty level, and figured how many minimum-wage hours it took to reach that level. That’s been pretty stable these last 30 years too, and right now we’re within about 2% of the average seen over that time.

Say what you like about whether it’s enough. But it’s not really any different now than before.

Ed, the 1960-80 period is indeed higher than the rest, with a brief but significant spike in 1968. I noted that already. But don’t compare 10.56 to 9.19, because the latter is WA state wage. All the numbers I quoted were federal minimums.

The 2% was not number of people. I figured the number of hours needed to work at minimum wage in order to reach the federal poverty level. Average during the period 1980-present was 1717, and about 1682 at present. That’s 2% less than the average number of hours, meaning essentially the same as the average.

Smitty, I appreciate the intelligent sarcasm of your point in post #3 above. Although few would call the manipulated morass that used to be called “the Market” pre 2008, let’s pretend a technical analysis is remotely relevant: It is quite brilliant to throw out a $50/hr. figure because in the old economy with the exception of currency devaluation, inflation and other negatives, it would have the same impact on M1 and M2 and the other two main sectors of what used to be the ‘economy’ as a simple raise of $2.00 per hour. All other wages eventually adjust up from the artificially mandated minimum base. It is the people who actually will/need to work at the artificial base who are hurt in the short term as the process of the adjustment plays out. Employers immediately reduce work hours and / or new hiring thus hurting those the ‘ignorant with good intentions but no actual clue’ want to help. In the old days if one actually desired to assist minimum wage workers to have BUYING POWER at least equal to the established “living wage”, without the harmful cascade of negatives such wage loss by those who can least incur it, the inflationary, currency devaluating consequences, was to increase support for and access to the plethora of existing and new “Hand up” menu of assistance additions to income such as housing, food, child care, additions to income similar to those offered by Private, City, Federal, Non-profit, faith based groups and so on. I suggest a central place to coordinate increasing “Buying Power” would address the too excessive time required to apply and receive these additions to income. However I do agree that there is a pretty big opportunity cost implementing equal buying power in this manner and that is one of pride. It is a false pride after the adjustment, but there are people who need help who won’t ask or accept it, ergo, I think supporting groups who help teach a new mind-set that it is for the good of the minimum wage workers and the entire population that if one’s buying power is below “x”, it is an obvious co and cost effective right to use whichever group of income additions necessary and is not charity…

Hah – an entirely different and coincidental 2%. Yes, that last graph shows a discussion of the minimum wage to be increasingly irrelevant because so few people are paid that way. 98% make more than the minimum, so we don’t have decent data without knowing the distribution of how much they’re actually paid. An additional two cents would make them not-the-minimum without really helping, but we don’t know how much of that is going on.

I used to be all for raising minimum wages, but in my life, all I have ever seen is retail prices double or triple once it happens. It simply just drives up prices for everyone on things like food gas etc so it makes little difference, actually makes things worse. I would say money better spent stopping corporations from shipping our good middle class jobs overseas AMAZON!!! or hiring cheap labor from overseas MICROSOFT!!! while making false claims saying they “just can’t find talented Americans to give those jobs to”. complete BS. Meanwhile they continue to use us U.S, citizens year after year as their temporary but talented-enough-to-do-th-job-and-are-already-FULLY-trained for it workforce. Also, put the money towards training voc programs so that minimum wage workers can get better jobs (overseas of course)

If Washington raised minimum wage to $15/hour I think we’d all be in a lot of trouble. Washington is an export state, largely because of Boeing and its local suppliers. True, no one is earning $15/hour at Boeing. Let’s say the average line assembly person is making $25/hour. If minimum wage was $15, that person would need to be paid at least $35 to $40 per hour to maintain her standard of living since everything would be more expensive. Guess what happens at that point? The cost of making that airplane in Washington State just went way up. Boeing would have to move out as quickly as possible so that they could remain cost-competitve with Airbus. It would be a disaster.

When economic models don’t follow a downward trend with raising the minimum wage, we then fall back on the idea of ‘well I had to when I was insert age’. Shouldn’t we be looking for constant improvement and not stagnation. Anecdotal evidence aside. Moving from the bottom into upper income ranges has stagnated. We currently have the same distribution of wealth as China with our current economic policies…We don’t even have true un-regulated capitalism. The Middle Class doesn’t exist under that model. It was created by protectionist policies. The problem with being an ideologue is that you fear being proven wrong. I welcome the idea behind the SeaTac initiative. If it passes and the dire consequences aren’t realized. What will you say then? If it does pass and the unemployment is unacceptable I’m sure the people will reverse it as they should. Personally, economically putting more cash in the lower levels of society (where they spend the vast majority of it) has shown to improve economic conditions for everyone. It really is in our not-minimum wage earners interest to have this put in place.

I come from the school of thought that the minimum wage is a starting wage. Meaning that after a time in a job, if you feel you are not making enough, you look for another higher paying job. Why should an unskilled worker without experience make $15.00 an hour?

There are a couple of side issues. Been to England lately where they have higher minimum wages? Check out the service. Generally not as good across the board. I am not saying it is bad but the service can be somewhat lacking at times.

Now that the Democrats will be forcing everyone to pay for their own healthcare I suppose they need to make more money. Companies are dropping healthcare benefits and people will have to go the exchanges. I always cringe when I hear elderly complain about either buying their drugs or paying rent. Now the youth of America and plenty other citizens will be having to decide to enrich the Insurance companies and risk an IRS fine or buy food or rent.

All hail the (un)affordable health care act.

Insurance..I’m on Medicare…a lot of people do not know that Medicare is not free. You have to pay for it. And that only covers the basics. Want more? Want surgery? Want a prescription? Costs more. And copays, and deductibles, and on and on.You tell me the difference. I have worked 2 months out of the last year due to health reasons. Self-employed…no sick leave, and no pay….thankfully there are programs that will help with those Medicare premiums, and I have been very lucky. Not all are so lucky…and the insurances from the exchange are cheap…and there will be subsidies.We can’t have it all ways…no insurance, go to ER, taxpayers pay and complain. Have a plan to get those people health insurance cheaply…and people still complain…it’s baffling.Is this plan perfect? Of course not…but it’s a step in the right direction…and doesn’t go far enough in my estimation.