It's been 15 years since workers earning the federal minimum wage got a raise. The cost of living has risen more than 45% since then, with Rents and housing prices Wages are rising faster than incomes in most regions of the country. However, the national minimum wage has stagnated at $7.25 per hour.
This is a poverty wage, and the federal minimum wage is long overdue. It is incredible that Congress has gone so long without making even modest adjustments to help the lowest-wage workers. This is the longest period without a federal minimum wage increase since President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Fair Labor Standards Act in 1938, which established the right to a minimum wage.
To be sure, there have been some attempts to raise the wage floor. Most recently, Democrats proposed the Raise the Wage Act of 2023, which would have gradually raised the minimum wage to $17 by 2028. Republicans countered with $11 They have been implemented gradually over four years. None of the proposals have moved forward.
As part of her economic plan, Vice President Kamala Harris has asked Congress to send her a bill that would raise the minimum wage. supported $15 an hour during the 2020 election, but this time he did not mention a figure.
Donald Trump, as expected, has sent mixed messages on raising the minimum wage over the years. In 2016, he said he wanted to raise the federal rate to at least $10, but then said minimum wage increases should be left up to the states, which is effectively what is happening now.
Some 30 states and the District of Columbia have enacted higher minimum wages, and many cities, including Los Angeles, San Francisco and New York, have adopted higher base wages than their states, recognizing that it is more expensive to live in urban areas. In Seattle and some surrounding cities, the minimum wage is nearly $20 an hour.
Yet 20 states, bowing to political and corporate pressure, have kept the federal minimum wage at $7.25 an hour. That's why Congress must act, and the next president should commit to passing a wage increase.
The minimum wage is supposed to ensure that workers can afford basic needs. It is hard to imagine, even in the least expensive regions, how an adult can afford housing, food, health care and transportation on a full-time minimum wage of $15,000 a year. That figure is below the poverty line for a single mother with one child. When workers earn so little that they could qualify for Medicaid and food stamps, taxpayers end up subsidizing their employers.
If the federal minimum wage had kept pace with inflation, it would be close to $11 an hour today. An estimated 5 million workers earn less than $11 an hour. And let's face it: While earning $11 an hour working full time would lift a single parent out of poverty, it probably won't be enough to pay the bills and save for a rainy day.
There will always be debate about the right level at which to set the minimum wage to help the most workers with the fewest negative consequences possible, which could include businesses eliminating low-wage jobs to save money. However, it should be clear that $7.25 is now woefully low and no longer a fair minimum wage. Everyone benefits when workers earn a decent standard of living, and raising the federal minimum wage is essential.
