[phpisthebest]

Pop Quiz: How many people in the US are working for the Federal Minimum wage right now today...

I am willing to bet it is very few given what I have seen advertised for traditional minimum wage jobs.

I am not sure how pointing to what the legal minimum wage is holds any value in the conversation, that matters is the current market rate for labor, we should not be looking to government as the basis of our economic worldview

[cratermoon]

About 1.1 million people have jobs that pay the federal minimum wage or less. Not counting farm jobs (think migrant labor).

[phpisthebest]

That looks to be 2020 BLS data, before the Massive labor shortage, the Great Resignation, and massive wage inflation.

Do you have a current source?

But even assuming that data is still valid, that is what 1.5% of the labor force, and about 1/2 that is teens, or under 24 years old.

so the massive amount of focus on "minimum wage workers needing to support a family" we are talking about 0.75% of all workers that would fall into that categorization, we should help these people with social programs to be sure, but I would not call that a crisis, or something needing massive economic/regulatory upheaval to resolve, it seems to be the market is doing just fine with wages with out government intervention