[toomuchtodo]

The minimum wage not being indexed to inflation has been theft for decades. It would take a minimum wage of almost $60/hr to maintain purchasing power from 50-60 years ago.

https://www.epi.org/blog/the-value-of-the-federal-minimum-wa...

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/minimum-wage-york-2024-live-1...

https://livingwage.mit.edu/

Edit: If the system of “we make asset prices go up while labor prices are inflated away” gets to the point where a living wage is unobtainable (we are here), we can change the system. The name is irrelevant, it’s fundamentally “what are you optimizing for?”

This happens eventually (wage increases) due to global structural demographic working age population compression, the argument is really time horizon if we help people live better lives with dignity now vs years from now as labor supply declines.

https://www.sas.upenn.edu/~jesusfv/Slides_London.pdf

https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=false&qu...

[kortilla]

You didn’t read your own link. The peak value of minimum wage was $12.12/hr in 1968 after adjusting for inflation.

https://www.epi.org/blog/the-value-of-the-federal-minimum-wa...

You cannot with a straight face claim bringing it to $60 has anything to do with inflation when the value it would need is right in that article.

[toomuchtodo]

I misspoke by not including more detail. $66/hr to match homebuying purchasing power of Boomers in the 70s. You can get away with less per hour as a living wage assuming reasonable rent, and in NYC, that is likely $30/hr (which we will get to as older voters continue to age out, and younger voters age into the electorate, and are engaged to push wages higher [exit polls show ~75% of New Yorkers 18-29 voted for Mamdani]).

https://www.epi.org/blog/a-30-by-2030-minimum-wage-in-new-yo...

> With the FBC cost data we can estimate a living wage that would allow workers to support their families. Table 1 shows that the living wage in 2025 is already above $30 an hour in Manhattan ($33.89), Queens ($31.31), and Staten Island ($30.68). While Brooklyn and The Bronx do not exceed this threshold, the costs facing these families will almost certainly continue to rise between today and 2030. These figures make it clear that discussions of a $30 minimum wage in New York City are not superfluous—they reflect the very real needs of working people throughout the city.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/guy-shared-just-high-min...

> Someone Calculated What The Minimum Wage Should Be Today Compared To The '70s In Order To Afford A Home

> Now, Chris's video isn't to suggest that minimum wage, at any point in its history, allowed people to buy homes outright. Rather, he told BuzzFeed, he wanted to highlight the ways in which "wages have decoupled from cost of living, housing prices, and broader economic growth over the last few decades."

> "The original purpose of the minimum wage was to ensure that even low-wage workers could participate meaningfully in the economy. Not just survive, but live with dignity," he said.

[TheCoelacanth]

That's more of an issue with housing prices drastically outpacing inflation because of dense housing construction being illegal in most of the country.

[almosthere]

So if minimum wage was $60 in a year you'll see a bread loaf for $900

[toomuchtodo]

Please prove this assertion. Show your math. I can pickup a loaf of bread for $1.42 in a state with a $15/hr minimum wage, as of this comment. What does a $30 minimum wage make it? $2? $2.50? The horror. $900? I am doing my best to be polite and charitable.

[almosthere]

Yes I was being sarcastic. But in CA when a typical wage went to $20 for Walmart or fast food, everything skyrocketed. At my grocery store you can get a bag of Fritos for $6 now, which should be no more than $2. If we triple the $20 (making it $60) we'll be paying $18 for a bag of Fritos. So yeah, I was joking a bit on the bread loaf, but we would be in an era of paying $600 for your grocery trip for 4 days of eating.

[mcdonje]

Prices went up everywhere, even in places without minimum wage increases.

[Shocka1]

I sense your frustration and I think they were probably being a bit sarcastic... I won't speculate on a loaf of bread, but I would speculate that everything from a loaf of bread to a home increases in price substantially if minimum wage were raised to $60. As wages increase, prices tend to follow, since workers across the spectrum demand higher pay.

I'm not against raising minimum wage, but economics is a very complex thing and changes like that need to be approached carefully.