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Minimum wage shocker
2015-11-12 20:46The median wage today is lower than the minimum wage would be if it had kept up with productivity.
"The figure shows the real (i.e., inflation-adjusted) value of the minimum wage, plus what the minimum wage would be if it had kept pace with productivity growth since 1968, as it did for the two decades prior. If the minimum wage had kept up with productivity growth over this period, it would now be $18.67 per hour. That sounds shockingly high—it is two-and-a-half times as high as the current minimum wage and is actually higher than the median wage, which is $16.30 per hour. But it’s important to keep in mind that the primary reason a minimum wage of $18.67 sounds so high today is because the wages of most workers are so low."
"If the median wage had kept pace with productivity growth over the last 40 years, it would now be $28.42 instead of $16.30. "
http://www.epi.org/publication/lagging-minimum-wage-reason-americans-wages/
"The figure shows the real (i.e., inflation-adjusted) value of the minimum wage, plus what the minimum wage would be if it had kept pace with productivity growth since 1968, as it did for the two decades prior. If the minimum wage had kept up with productivity growth over this period, it would now be $18.67 per hour. That sounds shockingly high—it is two-and-a-half times as high as the current minimum wage and is actually higher than the median wage, which is $16.30 per hour. But it’s important to keep in mind that the primary reason a minimum wage of $18.67 sounds so high today is because the wages of most workers are so low."
"If the median wage had kept pace with productivity growth over the last 40 years, it would now be $28.42 instead of $16.30. "
http://www.epi.org/publication/lagging-minimum-wage-reason-americans-wages/