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Originally Posted by Undertoad
But more interestingly, in 1998 4.4 million workers were at minimum wage; in 2015, it's 2.6 million. In 1998, 6.2% of all hourly-paid workers got minimum wage. In 2015, only 3.3% do. And by 2017, that number is 2.3%. It looks like the market is giving us a higher labor rate than the federal minimum. FWIW Wendy's pays like $12 out here.
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Of course that makes sense, since the minimum wage wasn't raised during that whole time. If the minimum wage were tied to inflation (which I think it should be, to save us rehashing this stupid political debate every couple of decades), $7.25 in 1998 would be $10.83 per hour now. What percentage of hourly workers would be at minimum wage by that calculation?
My stepdaughter was most recently making $8.40 as a restaurant hostess. The real question is: is the $12-per-hour Wendy's worker in your area able to afford housing in your area? My stepdaughter couldn't even afford to split the ghetto-est of ghetto apartments with roommates, in this area.