I’m going to have to bow to your clearly superior mathematics. Neither art or math were subjects I was at all comfortable with. Especially math. I did get along well with time speed distance calculations, which as a pilot are necessary survival skills.
That said, the unintended consequences of a change in the minimum wage make it worth not tinkering with in my opinion.
Good morning Wita -
No magic to the numbers. My short analysis helps show that all the noise, tears, and emotion has displaced history and facts to determine whether the MW should be adjusted and to what level. The first fact is that federal givernment monetary policy devalues currency. Therefore, as long as the givernment devalues currency, a fixed MW shall be devalued. It’s great theater and far easier to get in front of the cameras, shed fake tears and telling everyone how great you are for helping those struggling MW people, rather than deal with the destructive monetary policy of the feral givernment.
Therefore, the first question is - to what level does one adjust the MW that has been fixed for the last 12 years? And the second question is, since a MW working family is eligible for all sorts of feral givernment prizes (like Earned Income Child Credit, rent assist, food stamps ... renamed to “SNAP”, as in Suckers Need A Prize) should the MW be calculated based on all those additional payments?
The table I provided shows that the answer to the first question is that it depends on the MW starting year is used to calculate. In every case, not one came to $15.00, a number the table shows proves the $15.00 was pulled out of someone’s donkey. What was most surprising to me, is that if one goes back to 1938 when the ever generous FDR had the MW first set at 0.25/hr, calculating the rate of inflation from that point ... MW workers are ahead far ahead of inflation. And since there were no givernment prizes in 1938 like the ones available today, certain MW workers today are making even more. So until the current MW floats down to the 1938 baseline, our country would be well served to not raise the MW, and instead focus on getting rid of monetary policy that is built on devaluation. Of course, my opinion would never get anyone elected because it is easier for givernment to give away prizes that makes people temporarily feel good - believing the givernment really cares for them. One of FDR’s lasting legacies.