Quote:
Originally Posted by jimhoward
When was minimum wage a living wage?
My first job was in 1970 and paid the minimum wage, which at that time was $1.75/hour (in Massachusetts). You could not live on $70/week in 1970. I was a dependent kid, so didn't care. Fast forward to the present time, where the minimum wage in Florida is $15/hr ($10.95 for tipped employees). You cannot live on $600/week.....but its almost feasible. Was there a time in the middle that I am forgetting about when the minimum wage was a living wage?
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The federal minimum wage hit its highest inflation-adjusted value in 1968 (peaking around $1.60 per hour. At that time, full-time work at the minimum wage was enough to lift a family of three out of poverty. This wouldn't have been true in NYC, or other metro areas that typically have higher costs of living. But someone in the suburbs somewhere in Tennessee, or Wyoming, or Virginia, or Ohio - would have been able to get out of poverty with full-time minimum wage work.
That is WHY it was created. To lift people out of poverty. That doesn't mean a family of 5 living in a condo in Manhattan should be able to get a popsicle from the Hoodsie man every night after a 3-course dinner, and weekend treats at McDonald's. It meant - having shelter with a fireplace or heat and running water, enough food to not starve, and shoes that don't have holes in them, and a winter coat if needed.
Even as late as 1980, many states had a low enough cost of living that a couple each working a full-time minimum wage job would be able to manage a household budget, be decently fed and clothed, have utilities and transportation.