The editors at Bloomberg News apparently aren’t buying the pro forma argument(opens in new tab) from corporate-backed front groups and diehard ideologues(opens in new tab) that the minimum wage is bad for our economy.
Instead, when the editors at Bloomberg News planted their stake in the minimum wage debate, they joined a crowd of supporters, including economists(opens in new tab), faith leaders(opens in new tab), advocates(opens in new tab), Senators(opens in new tab), President Obama(opens in new tab) and even Mitt Romney (opens in new tab)(well, not anymore(opens in new tab)).
All of these individuals and organizations favor increasing the federal minimum wage to keep pace with inflation – which can be a pretty big deal for people living and working from paycheck to paycheck.
From Bloomberg(opens in new tab):
Here’s an unhappy observation about the minimum wage(opens in new tab): Congress last increased the rate in stages in 2006, topping it out at $7.25 an hour in 2009, or $15,080 a year.
That amount, when adjusted for inflation, is actually lower than what a minimum-wage worker earned in 1968 and is too meager to offer anyone the chance to climb out of poverty, let alone afford basic goods and services.
About 10 states are now considering raising the rate, and Senator Tom Harkin(opens in new tab), an Iowa Democrat, is proposing to increase the federal rate in three increments to $9.80 an hour in 2014. Many of the initiatives(opens in new tab) under consideration would smartly tie the minimum wage to the cost of living, meaning that those workers’ wages would finally keep up with inflation.
The past recession was brutal on jobs, household wealth and economic growth. But wages were hit hard, too. Real average hourly earnings have fallen(opens in new tab) below the level of 2009. Although wages often lag job growth after a recession, the pace of income gains this time around is far slower than in previous recoveries.
Read the rest at Bloomberg: Raise the Minimum Wage(opens in new tab)