the federal minimum wage in the US is still $7.25/hour
It would be a fun experiment to set the maximum wage in the US at $7.25/hour for a year. Instead of the minimum wage, make it the maximum wage. How many of my readers would survive 2023 if they and their employed adult household members were each paid only $7.25/hour -- and had to lock up any savings, pensions, home equity, government assistance, etc. Live on the $7.25/hour!
My household would gross $29,000/year, before withholding. That wouldn't even cover the first and second mortgages on our house (T took out a second mortgage to refinance his consumer debt). So we'd become homeless. And renting around here is even more expensive than our mortgage -- cheapest rent for a house in our neighborhood is $3,000/month.
We would have to move to a less expensive neighborhood (or live in T's tent), but then could we afford our car payments? Our prescription medicines? Food? Clothing, gasoline, Metro, Internet, phones, video games, intoxicants, porn LOL.
Why is the minimum wage so fucking low in the US? 17 countries have higher minimum wages. 22 countries if you adjust for purchasing power.
But here's the kicker -- 131 countries have higher minimum wages than the US if you adjust for per capita GDP. Meaning 131 countries give their workers a larger share of what they produce than the US does. 81 countries give their workers at least half of per capita GDP, the US gives only 26%. As a minimum in the US, workers receive about 1/4 of the value of what they produce. Who gets the rest? The owners and management, of course.
When the current Democrat-controlled Senate held a test vote in 2021 on increasing the federal minimum wage, they couldn't even get to 50 votes (60 would be needed to overcome a filibuster). Every Republican voted against, eight Democrats voted against -- Sens. Joe Manchin (W.Va.), Kyrsten Sinema (Ariz.), Jon Tester (Mont.), Jeanne Shaheen (N.H.), Maggie Hassan (N.H.), Chris Coons (Del.), Tom Carper (Del.), and Angus King (Maine.) -- it failed 42-58. That's not even close.
30 states have taken the matter into their own hands, requiring a higher state minimum wage than the federal. But 20 states have not, including my birth state of Wisconsin.
Anybody willing to take me up on this challenge? Live on $7.25/hour next year. Every Senator who voted against increasing the minimum wage should live on $7.25/hour next year. [I don't think I'll be able to talk T into joining me on this LOL. We are the 3%.]
My household would gross $29,000/year, before withholding. That wouldn't even cover the first and second mortgages on our house (T took out a second mortgage to refinance his consumer debt). So we'd become homeless. And renting around here is even more expensive than our mortgage -- cheapest rent for a house in our neighborhood is $3,000/month.
We would have to move to a less expensive neighborhood (or live in T's tent), but then could we afford our car payments? Our prescription medicines? Food? Clothing, gasoline, Metro, Internet, phones, video games, intoxicants, porn LOL.
Why is the minimum wage so fucking low in the US? 17 countries have higher minimum wages. 22 countries if you adjust for purchasing power.
But here's the kicker -- 131 countries have higher minimum wages than the US if you adjust for per capita GDP. Meaning 131 countries give their workers a larger share of what they produce than the US does. 81 countries give their workers at least half of per capita GDP, the US gives only 26%. As a minimum in the US, workers receive about 1/4 of the value of what they produce. Who gets the rest? The owners and management, of course.
When the current Democrat-controlled Senate held a test vote in 2021 on increasing the federal minimum wage, they couldn't even get to 50 votes (60 would be needed to overcome a filibuster). Every Republican voted against, eight Democrats voted against -- Sens. Joe Manchin (W.Va.), Kyrsten Sinema (Ariz.), Jon Tester (Mont.), Jeanne Shaheen (N.H.), Maggie Hassan (N.H.), Chris Coons (Del.), Tom Carper (Del.), and Angus King (Maine.) -- it failed 42-58. That's not even close.
30 states have taken the matter into their own hands, requiring a higher state minimum wage than the federal. But 20 states have not, including my birth state of Wisconsin.
Anybody willing to take me up on this challenge? Live on $7.25/hour next year. Every Senator who voted against increasing the minimum wage should live on $7.25/hour next year. [I don't think I'll be able to talk T into joining me on this LOL. We are the 3%.]