Dec 6, 2010

Minimum wage workers worse off now than 40 years ago



If you were earning minimum wage in 1968, your paycheck went further than it does today. According to the Economic Policy Institute, “When adjusted for inflation, the minimum wage was worth $8.54 per hour in 1968, compared to the current minimum wage of $7.25 per hour. Based on a typical, 2,000-hour work year, the 1968 inflation-adjusted minimum wage would equate to an annual salary of $17,080 per year, versus $14,500 for today’s minimum wage.”

It is difficult to fathom how so many Americans live on minimum wage jobs, but millions do.

According to US government data, the poverty line for an individual in 2010 is $10,830 per year.  Adjusted for inflation, that is $6,250 less than the value of the same minimum wage worker’s pay was more than 40 years ago.

Minimum wage was the subject of controversy during the 2010 election season. When Connecticut Senate candidate Linda McMahon was questioned by reporters on the campaign trail, McMahon did not know how much minimum wage was, but she thought it should be lowered.


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