MEME: minimum wage was increased YEARLY until Reagan, its corporate GREED not raising it for 7years
Raising the minimum wage to $11 per hour is hardly overreaching.
In fact, it's simply restoring the original value of the minimum wage back to where it was before Reaganomics, when Congress stopped doing its job of regularly updating it along with inflation, productivity and the cost of living. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the minimum wage of $1.60 in the late 1960s had the same purchasing power as $10.71 did in 2013.
Today's minimum wage is a lousy $7.25, and if you want to know where the missing three dollars went, look no further than the skyrocketing corporate profits that corporations and the rich are currently hoarding.
That these interests have managed to capture an entire political party and have made the raising of the minimum wage a difficult and unpredictable process is truly a great shame.
Perhaps the biggest shame of all is that today's artificially low minimum wage is keeping wages down across the board and depressing consumer demand at a time when our economy needs it most. The question now is:
Will Congress act before it's too late to save what once was a middle class?"
If the minimum wage is not RAISED there is going to be a Civil War and more will be lost to the "rich", they should take a look at what happened in Russia in the early 1900's and what happened in Germany just before WWII, they have pushed the public to that point, we are there already. Congress should get a clue and just raise it to
$13.00 per hour, since they have waited SEVEN YEARS in between raises. What kind of country does that? Where is the YEARLY cost of living raise? wth?
Share
"Wages in USA are artificially low. Corporate profits have never been higher and prices are rising, and yet business expects us to believe that they can only afford poverty wages of $7.25?
The minimum wage was increased YEARLY until Reagan and now Republicans in Congress are blocking an increase even though those working for Congress are averaging $222 PER HOUR for themselves. wtf?
Its been SEVEN YEARS since Congress last voted for a raise. What happened to the yearly COST OF LIVING RAISE?
End Corporate and Congressional GREED or there will be a CIVIL WAR and much more will be lost, especially to the rich. Think Russia, think Germany in the early to mid 1900's. Its time to fight for real. And by the way, no more raises for Congress or any other "high government employee giving themselves the public's money - the raises for those people shall be frozen PERMANENTLY."
wonder how many years it will take for the public minimum hourly to catch up with the $222 per hour of our high government officials. hmmm, 100 years or more i bet.
In fact, it's simply restoring the original value of the minimum wage back to where it was before Reaganomics, when Congress stopped doing its job of regularly updating it along with inflation, productivity and the cost of living. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the minimum wage of $1.60 in the late 1960s had the same purchasing power as $10.71 did in 2013.
Today's minimum wage is a lousy $7.25, and if you want to know where the missing three dollars went, look no further than the skyrocketing corporate profits that corporations and the rich are currently hoarding.
That these interests have managed to capture an entire political party and have made the raising of the minimum wage a difficult and unpredictable process is truly a great shame.
Perhaps the biggest shame of all is that today's artificially low minimum wage is keeping wages down across the board and depressing consumer demand at a time when our economy needs it most. The question now is:
Will Congress act before it's too late to save what once was a middle class?"
If the minimum wage is not RAISED there is going to be a Civil War and more will be lost to the "rich", they should take a look at what happened in Russia in the early 1900's and what happened in Germany just before WWII, they have pushed the public to that point, we are there already. Congress should get a clue and just raise it to
$13.00 per hour, since they have waited SEVEN YEARS in between raises. What kind of country does that? Where is the YEARLY cost of living raise? wth?
Share
"Wages in USA are artificially low. Corporate profits have never been higher and prices are rising, and yet business expects us to believe that they can only afford poverty wages of $7.25?
The minimum wage was increased YEARLY until Reagan and now Republicans in Congress are blocking an increase even though those working for Congress are averaging $222 PER HOUR for themselves. wtf?
Its been SEVEN YEARS since Congress last voted for a raise. What happened to the yearly COST OF LIVING RAISE?
End Corporate and Congressional GREED or there will be a CIVIL WAR and much more will be lost, especially to the rich. Think Russia, think Germany in the early to mid 1900's. Its time to fight for real. And by the way, no more raises for Congress or any other "high government employee giving themselves the public's money - the raises for those people shall be frozen PERMANENTLY."
wonder how many years it will take for the public minimum hourly to catch up with the $222 per hour of our high government officials. hmmm, 100 years or more i bet.
Replies
I agree with you. Minimum wage is not a livable wage. My mom makes minimum wage and if her husband is out of work they have to move out to a cheaper place and sell their truck. I think $11 an hour is reasonable. That should be our minimum wage.
Of course I think the minimum wage should increase.
It would not affect me one way or the other. But I don\'t think the \"public\" minimum hourly wage will or should ever catch up with the per hour wage of our \"government officials\".
That was a very interesting article.
Minimum wage is an exact necessity with our economy being in the toilet the way it is right now. It\'s the very smallest step in getting us back on our feet in this Country. People have to reason to want to try to fight for a job. A job that pays next to nothing, and where the money will be spent on commuting costs just to get there! Many things have not been taken into consideration about how much one makes an hour. For millions of American\'s that includes child care, so the parent can work at all! Childcare is extremely expensive. It includes gas (which is out of control in it\'s pricing) just to get to work, it includes the food we need to set on our table to feed our kids. It\'s just easier, in general, to stay home and collect unemployment than to get out there and fight like a dog for a job that doesn\'t pay enough to fill the fridge and pay the sitter.
Wake up America!!!
i hear its going up to $9 NOW and to ten or eleven in 2016. i thought to myself and the wait of another two years. WHY????
I completely agree with this. Minimum wage X 40 hours worked per week should not be less than poverty level. Isn\'t that the whole point of having a minimum wage?? *HUGS*