Minimum Wage Will Increase Very Soon
High Inflation and cost-of-living will push the US Government to take action and catch up. Many States have done so already.
The Federal Minimum Wage (currently $7.25/hr) is almost guaranteed to increase very soon.
Currently the longest streak without an increase in the Federal Minimum Wage (13 years -- last raise was in 2009. Previous longest streak was 10 years from 1997 to 2007)
Many other States and Cities have already been increasing their Minimum Wage significantly. Federal rate will have to follow and catch up.
High inflation and cost-of-living will push the US Government to take action.
It's time for the US Government to raise the Federal Minimum Wage, and it most certainly will happen soon. Currently in the longest streak without an increase (13 years dating back to 2009), the $7.25 per hour Minimum Wage will have to quickly catch up as many States have already taken action and raised their Minimum Wage over the past few years. Further forcing the issue is the high inflation and rising cost-of-living which adds huge pressure on the Government to take action.
The U.S. hasn't raised the Federal Minimum Wage since 2009, the longest streak since the national Minimum Wage was enacted in 1938 under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).
Most individual States have already increased their Minimum Wage (see table at the bottom). Cities have done the same, with Seattle, San Francisco, Denver, New York City, and others already at a $15+/hr minimum wage.
A number of major corporations have already raised their Minimum Wage, including Amazon ($AMZN), Bank of America ($BAC), Costco ($COST), Chipotle ($CMG), Starbucks ($SBUX), Target ($TGT), Walmart ($WMT), and others.
President Biden recently raised the minimum wage for federal contractors to $15 (see: https://www.wsj.com/articles/minimum-wage-for-federal-contractors-to-rise-to-15-an-hour-11637599697 )(see: https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2022/01/28/statement-by-president-joe-biden-on-15-minimum-wage-for-federal-workers-and-contractors-going-into-effect/ ), so the movement is already underway. However, there is still a battle in Congress whether the $15 Federal Minimum Wage will become official.
“Of course, nothing helps families make ends meet like higher wages…and to everyone in this Congress who still refuses to raise the minimum wage, I say this: If you truly believe you could work full-time and support a family on less than $15,000 a year, go try it. If not, vote to give millions of the hardest-working people in America a raise.”
–President Obama, State of the Union address, Jan. 20, 2015
Things to consider:
1) Does increase in Minimum Wage lead to higher inflation? Even if it does, don't these workers deserve to get paid more?
2) $15 per hour might be worth a lot more to someone living in a city or state with a lower cost-of-living. People living in major cities with high expenses might need more.
3) Could higher minimum wage have negative effects on some businesses? Perhaps.
Whether the Minimum Wage will increase to $15 or a lower number is still up for debate. However, an increase, even a smaller one, is certainly needed.
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_US_states_by_minimum_wage
Source: https://www.paycor.com/resource-center/articles/minimum-wage-by-state/