Which U.S. president established the federal minimum wage?

and yet, inflation goes up faster than the minimum wage

Player #mimi2157, You obviously are among the privileged, as your comment, "at least you can pay your rent now" is no different from saying, "let them eat cake"! No one in the US is surviving on one minimum wage job, which is how it is supposed to be. Someone working full time (40 hrs per week) at $7.25/hr nets roughly $1100/mo after taxes, and the average rent for a 1 bedroom apartment was $1080 in 2017. This is why so many families are only one or two paychecks away from homelessness and the only way to solve that problem is by increasing minimum wage to a living wage.

Era Vulgaris, Congress raises their pay more often than they do for the people

2gameORnot2game4mE, You DO realize that FDR, a liberal Democrat, was responsible for both Social Security and the minimum wage. We also happen to Love freedom, truth AND logic, fyj!

N00bPixie56523, yes and our country is full of the working poor

Nutshell, look at the history; every time the wage goes up, prices go up to compensate, it just doesn't work.

There is no middle class anymore, just the very rich and the poor.

LadyDJ2016, duh! you think people want to stay low level? longevity in a job used to be worth something.

Player #3813778, prices have gone up drastically anyway although minimum wage hasn't been raised in years!

Minimum wage always hurts the people it supposedly is designed to help.

Nutshell, An alternative could be to educate people the way we used to. When I was a senior in high school, my first job was in the credit department at Sears, evaluating people's creditworthiness, thanks to business classes. When I graduated high school, I could take dictation (Shorthand) at 120 wpm, and type 70 wpm. My first year of college, those skills got me a job working in a criminal defense attorney's office. Jobs like that fresh out of high school are completely unheard of today. The difference is education. More educated citizens would mean less dependence on minimum wage for working class heroes.

Wonder why there are so many who can't afford rent? Let alone owing a house?

Nutshell, sorry you are wrong, I make 10$ an hour and my rent is $700 a month. I live very well thank you. I don't go to fast food places I cook. I can make a homemade batch of spaghetti, chile or beef stew for around $15 dollars

we could use a man like FDR nowadays

Player #3813778, that doesn't make sense.

Could not find anything in the Constitution granting the government the right to do price fixing. Although well intended it tends to keep starting wages low. If the free market were allowed to determine the starting wage, it would be a lot higher due to the great demand for workers right now.

Nutshell, you're right!!! Let's increase the minimum wage to $100,000 for everyone! Perhaps listening to Dr Thomas Sole will shed light on the idiocy of minimum wag

The common meme about raising the minimum wage causing job loss is the prevailing political notion in the US. Well, taking Ec in the UK (and again at college in the US) My econometrics professor asked us to figure it out. Turns out, minimum wage earners are catalysts to the economy! We're in the interval where raising min wages improves GDP more than loses jobs, and have since the 80s. Simple thoughts can be wrong.

Nutshell, Those minimum wage jobs are entry level jobs, not ever meant to be used to support a family. Most of them are unskilled labor.

Player #3813778, everytime YOUR wages go up prices go up.

Frodosynthesis35, some people don't have a choice. I've had to work low paying jobs because I have a child with an ongoing medical condition. Most higher paying jobs will not give the flexibility needed to take him to necessary appointments.

In Australia it is $21

Nutshell, i rent apartments for 500-600

N00bPixie56523, it start at 25 cents an hour which would be 4.19 in todays money so it has gone up nearly twice as fast as inflation

Frodosynthesis35, don't tell me, you used to walk 6 miles in the snow for the priveledge to shovel a driveway for a nickel back in 19- bahbahboom

Nutshell, minimum wage is an entry level position not intended to be a career, its just a starting point

Nutshell, Preach it sista

Era Vulgaris, I attest to your words. My salary was like middle middle class. Now is barely save money even after I cut all waste.

Suzy Q 54, definately a bunch of nutjobs in the party now.

interesting fact

Does everyone realize how many low-skill workers would have to be laid off if minimum wage were to increase? It would be totally counterproductive. Minimum wage jobs are supposed to be temporary. People need to take it upon themselves to improve their skill set and show employers they are worth more money. But no one wants to put in the effort today...

Big Blue Narwhal, I sure don’t trust the Democrats

Nutshell, so so true and sad.

N00bPixie56523, plus you cannot survive on minimum wages. Its so bad.