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Congress Has Never Let the Minimum Wage Erode for This Long
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June 18, 2019 | WAGES | June 16th marked the longest period in history without an increase in the federal minimum wage. The last time Congress passed an increase was in May 2007, when it legislated that the minimum wage be raised to $7.25 per hour on July 24, 2009. Since it was first established in 1938, Congress has never let the minimum wage go unchanged for so long. When the minimum wage remains unchanged for any length of time, inflation erodes its buying power. As shown in the graphic, when the minimum wage was last raised to $7.25 in July 2009, it had a purchasing power equivalent to $8.70 in today’s dollars. Over the last 10 years, as it has remained at $7.25, the purchasing power of the minimum wage has declined by 17 percent. For a full-time, year-round minimum wage worker, this represents a loss of over $3,000 in annual earnings… People’s World
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