USA: The Minimum Wage Should Be $24 per Hour Not $7.25

The Minimum Wage Travesty: How Greedy Corporations and Spineless Politicians Robbed Workers of a Livable Wage

Photo by Joshua Sukoff on Unsplash

For decades, the federal minimum wage has been an absolute joke, failing to keep up with the skyrocketing cost of living and leaving millions of hardworking Americans struggling to make ends meet. It’s a disgrace.

Back in 1968, the minimum wage hit its peak value of $12.50 per hour in today’s dollars. That means if it had simply kept pace with inflation, the federal minimum would be a respectable $24 per hour right now. But of course, that’s not what happened.

No, instead greedy corporations and their cronies in Congress have systematically eroded the minimum wage, allowing its real value to plummet by over 40% from its high point. The current federal minimum of $7.25 per hour is an absolute insult — it’s nowhere close to a living wage, especially in high-cost areas.