Yep, back in 1963 the federal minimum wage went to $1.25 per hour. That would buy lunch for two people with change left. Now it is $7.25 and that will barely buy lunch for one at a fast food place if you’re lucky. Five dollars an hour was a dream then, I could not imagine what I would do with all that money if I ever made that much. Ten dollars an hour now is enough to support one VERY FRUGAL person who does not smoke, drink or spend money on any other non-necessities and only in a relatively low cost of living area and provided he can find a place to rent that does not consume his entire income. At ten an hour a person who smoked the same number and brand of cigarettes I used to smoke back in the late sixties or early seventies would need forty hours or more at ten an hour every month just to buy cigarettes and that is in South Carolina! I have no idea what it costs to buy cigarettes in New York or Chicago now.
After the most recent tax boost, in Chicago, $13.
https://www.expatistan.com/price/cigarettes/chicago
Good points; when I had my first regular job in high school minimum wage was $3.15 and cigarettes were $1.20. Never mind the price increases with groceries (attempts to hide the increases via smaller packaging fool no one); the percentage of income people pay in various TAXES is disgraceful.
Years ago I stated the writing was on the wall when Western Europeans stopped coming here; for the same burdensome taxes they could have a comparable standard of living over there (if not better, as long as they were employed). Longer vacations, shorter workdays, and “free” healthcare that is bad but comparable to what we pay for (our healthcare system really outshines theirs for wealthier people).