Same Minimum Wage, 12 Years Later
There is a major debate in the US regarding the federal minimum wage. Some say we should keep it the same as it is not meant to be a living wage. Others say everyone deserves to afford to live without being impoverished. Find out here how the value of a dollar has changed since 2009.
The minimum wage was increased in 2009 to $7.25/hour. At the time, this wasn’t big money, but it was big enough to help some of us to make a liveable wage. Since then we have seen inflation rise because that only happens with minimum wage increases, right? Actually, no. Here’s the problem with that theory. The U.S. federal minimum wage never increased again. Yet still, inflation continued and is continuing to this day in 2021.
We can’t blame a minimum wage increase on 12 years of rising prices, and we have to recognize that inflation happens and is a part of life. Let’s look at some other areas where we’ve seen alarming changes in price tags, and see how inflation is not easily calculable based on any one formula.
In 2009, according to ipropertymanagement.com, rent sat at around $808 a month for an average small apartment. According to the same source, today’s rent for the same size living arrangement costs $1,104. Even more disturbing is that only 78.1% of Americans are able to make on-time monthly rent payments.
