Adjusted for inflation $15.00 would be equivalent to $2.00 in 1965. High, but not earth shattering.
“Adjusted for inflation $15.00 would be equivalent to $2.00 in 1965. High, but not earth shattering.”
Good, you might understand my theory on all of this. I think
the minimum wage does two things. One, it causes the effect
of inflation to start at the bottom of the economy along
with at the top. Two, it’s a boost in tax revenue for the
government. The bad thing is it forces a huge monetary
sacrifice on business and the middle class by raising the
cost of business while causing a lull in revenue and a
loss of retirement and savings due to a weaker dollar.
Adjusted for inflation, $15 is still an all-time high. Meanwhile, we're importing millions of unskilled workers from abroad, so there is effectively an infinite supply, or at least a supply that dwarfs demand. A $15 national minimum wage is truly a prescription for disaster. (As we will see demonstrated in the locales that are instituting it. There were far fewer technological options available to replace low skilled labor in 1965.)
Personally I think the real truth is far worse than that.
minimum wage in 1965 was 1.15 and increased to 1.25 in September of that year. So at 1.25 an increase to 2.00 would be a 3/5 increase and certainly be substantial.
Current federal minimum wage is 7.25 and the proposal is more than 100% increase to 15.00