Here's What The Minimum Wage Should Be In Every Major US City
In the last couple of weeks, national politicians have begun to talk seriously about economic inequality and increasing the income of the working poor. "It's well past the time to raise a minimum wage," President Obama said in an economic address last week. "It will be good for our economy. It will be good for our families."
Democrats in both the House and the Senate have proposed a hike from the current $7.25 to $10.10, with further increases pegged to inflation. This is a much-needed jump. But even at the new rate, full-time minimum wage employees would earn just 37 percent of the median full-time wage across America, as University of Massachusetts Amherst economist Arindrajit Dube pointed out in a recent New York Times op-ed. Real purchasing power would still be much lower than it was several decades ago.
And given the substantial differences in housing and living costs across U.S. cities and metros, a single minimum wage makes little sense. Workers need much more to get by in San Francisco or New York than in smaller, less expensive cities.
Already, state and municipal governments are at the leading edge of efforts to raise the minimum wage, adopting local minimums significantly above the federal requirements. Last month, voters in SeaTac, Washington – a town notable for its major airport, filled with minimum-wage workers at newsstands and fast-food joints – narrowly approved a huge hike in their minimum wage to $15. And in a more modest move, but one that will affect far more workers, the District of Columbia City Council recently backed an $11.50 minimum wage.Nineteen states have set their minimum wages above the federal level. California, Connecticut, New York, Rhode Island, and New Jersey are set to do the same over the next year or two.
But what should these local minimum wages look like?
Read more:
http://www.theatlanticcities.com/jobs-and-economy/2013/12/why-every-city-needs-its-own-minimum-wage/7801/