minimum wage

[LivingAlmostLarge]

What's the minimum wage where you are? Where I am it's $20.29 (WA)

[srblanco7]

Where I live (Upstate NY) it's $15/hr.

[bjl584]

Pennsylvania
$7.25
There is constant rumblings of it going up, but it hasn't happened in years.

Here is a link to all 50 states:

2024, Release Tables: Federal and State Minimum Wage Rates, Annual | FRED | St. Louis Fed (stlouisfed.org)

[myrdale]

Georgia is $7.25 according to bjl584 link.

[disneysteve]

$15.13

[LivingAlmostLarge]

Does anyone understand why the minimum wage is not tied to inflation like SS?

[bjl584]

Does anyone understand why the minimum wage is not tied to inflation like SS?

My only understanding as to why is because that is how the law was written in 1938.

[ua_guy]

California is voting on a statewide minimum wage in November to a new high of $18/hr (from $16... it would rise to $17 for the remainder of 2024 and then become $18 in Jan 2025). Affects companies with at least 26 employees.

In contrast, Alabama, South Carolina, and Tennessee do not have minimum wage set at the State level. Their minimum is the Federal minimum, $7.25/hr.

[anhtuvp]

Yeah, mine is also 15

[Atretes1]

Kansas same as federal $7.25.

[LivingAlmostLarge]

How do people survive on the federal minimum?

[myrdale]

How do people survive on the federal minimum?

They live a frugal lifestyle, or rely on other people.

Minimum wage is minimum pay for minimum work. It is for entry level jobs, bagging groceries, flipping hamburgers, washing dishes and sweeping floors. These are jobs for people with no experience, so they can build career skills. Something as simple as showing up to work on time reliably, is something that a lot of them are not capable of.

Minimum wage jobs have an annual turnover rate of around 70%. These are people who aren't going to be in the position very long.

If you're older than 25 and still making minimum wage, it is because you don't want to earn more. It is your choice to stick with that job instead of moving up.

No one is being forced to spend the next 25 years earning minimum wage.

The better question might be, how can unskilled, uneducated, unmotivated people survive?

[bjl584]

How do people survive on the federal minimum?

I don't think you do.
But how many people out there are working full time for the federal minimum wage of $7.25?

[ua_guy]

It's really a question of should the government pay their way? Or, should an employer pay their way, for work that they do in exchange. My opinion falls in the latter category. Make minimal work enticing enough for a wider audience who wish to stand on both feet. It's proven to bolster economies at the local and national level. States with the lowest minimum / federal-only are some of the poorest states and rely the most on government handouts.

[LivingAlmostLarge]

I just think why can't it be tied to inflation the minimum wge.