Minimum Wage
I heard on the news today that gas prices just went up to $3.85 per gallon. There have been numerous stories about the effect of gas prices on working class families, but what keeps popping into my mind is this: Do you know what the federal minimum wage is today? $5.85 per hour. It's set to go up this July and then again in July 2009, topping out at $7.25 per hour. Do you know what the federal minimum wage was in 1938? $ .25. So we've increased minimum wage by $7.00 in a seventy-year span. Check out this list of the minimum wage increases I found: http://www.laborlawcenter.com/federal-minimum-wage.asp
Other random facts about prices in 1938:
Other random facts about prices in 1938:
The cost of a gallon of gas in 1938 was 10 cents. http://www.thepeoplehistory.com/1938.html
The price of a home was $3,900 and the cost to rent a house was $27.
Statistically (insert any above stats) the people who earn minimum wage aren't any better off 70 years later.
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